The Medical School Interview

1. The Medical School Interview Eddie Hernandez, M.S. The University of Texas at San Antonio

2. Agenda • Introduction to the interview: First impression • Preparation • Attire • Question categories • Sample Questions • Interactive Responses to Questions • Ending the interview: Last impression

3. The Basics • The interview lasts between 20-45 minutes • At UTHSCSA you will be interviewed twice, usually by a PhD and a MD • The holding room is usually the library or an auditorium • Go to the restroom before the interview • Eat a sensible lunch • The handshake!

4. Attire • Business attire. • Women: skirts below the knee or slacks are acceptable. No blouses showing cleavage or excessive jewelry. Makeup should be at a minimum. • Men: black or navy blue suit and tie. Crisp white shirt should be pressed. Tie should be a standard color. Black shoes are appropriate. • No tattoos should be visible, no facial piercings or gauges. Hair should be groomed and nails maintained.

5. The Medical School Interview • The interviewers job: • 1. To determine if you fit the profile of a medical doctor • 2. To gauge your social skills • 3. To ascertain your commitment to a medical career • 4. To select (recommend) students from a large group of invitees

6. The Medical School Interview • The Interviewees Job: • 1. To convince the interviewer to recommend you • 2. To showcase your social skills • 3. To reveal your honesty, sincerity, tactfulness, and respectfulness • 4. To demonstrate compassion, empathy, and objectivity • 5. To have a clear, finite, and unique reason to attend medical school

7. Your Answers • Although the questions presented to you are seemingly simple, the answers are a fantastic exercise in clearly demonstrating your commitment to medicine or they can be vague responses drowning in ambiguity. • My job today is to make sure you are prepared and armed with the information needed to demonstrate your commitment to medicine or even dentistry.

8. Your Answers • 2 ways that questions are answered during an interview: • 1. Content: your actual words • 2. Manner: the way you present the words

9. Content • Your answer in terms of CONTENT should be: • 1. Clear: organized; disorganization shows disarray and uncertainty • 2. To the point: Concise; rambling pointlessly shows how truly uninformed you are • 3. Interesting: Anecdotes, experiences, analogies; lacking these is both narrow and myopic Remember: Do not hold back on what you want to say fearing you might be too sappy or might ramble; do not be so reserved that it’s perceived as being uninformed or that your lying. Just be honest and your CONTENT will make sense.

10. Manner • Your answer in terms of MANNER should be: • 1. Polytonic: inflections, and facial expressions; monotonous speech is indeed boring. • 2. Cordial: Courteous, gracious and humble; uncordiality shows lack of friendliness and warmth • 3. Confidence: Eye contact with out staring; shifting eyes could show unsureness or insincerity. • 3. Enthusiastic and Lively: Cheerful and passionate with a smile; lack of enthusiasm shows lack of interest and motivation. • Remember: if you are being honest, your MANNER will confirm the sincerity with which you speak! • Practice your answers and ask for feedback.

11. Interview Question Categories • 1. Ambiguous • 2. Medically-Related • 3. Academics • 4. Social Skills & Interests • 5. Stress-Related • 6. Situational • 7. Personality-Oriented • 8. Autobiographical • 9. Miscellaneous • 10. Concluding

12. Ambiguous • 1. Tell me about yourself. • 2. How do you want me to remember you? • 3. Convince me that you would make a good doctor. • 4. What are you goals? • 5. What makes you better than those other applicants in the holding room? • 6. There are 500 applicants invited to be interviewed. Why should I choose you? • Why do you want to study medicine?

13. Medically-Related • What is the Hippocratic Oath? • What are the pro’s and con’s of health care? • Do doctors make too much money? • What is your opinion of HMO’s and PPO’s? • What is the difference between Medicare and Medicaid? • Which specialties are most interested in and why? • If you had the power, what would you change about the the health care delivery system

14. Academics • Why did you choose your present course of studies? • Can you convince me that you can cope with the rigorous medical school coursework? • How do you prepare/study for exams? • Other than a science course, what course did you NOT take in college that you wish you would have taken and why? • Why did you make a C in Organic Chemistry? • Do you have any academic achievements?

15. Social Skills & Interests • What evidence can you provide that shows you relate well with others? • Give an example of a leadership role you have assumed. • Have you engaged in any volunteer work? • What are you hobbies? • What is your relationship with your family and friends? • If you could describe your personality in one word what would that word be?

16. Stress-Related • What do you do to relieve stress? • What was the most stressful event in your life and how did you handle it? • Your father has a heart attack the night before your Physiology final exam. What do you do? • It seems to me you don’t know much about medicine. Why didn’t you prepare for this interview? • Why are you here? • As of now, I’m not recommending you for medical school. You have one more opportunity to plead your case and change my mind.

17. Situational“magic wand”Questions • A 68 year-old woman has a newly discovered cancer. Her life expectancy is 6 months. How would you inform her? • A 34 year-old man presents with AIDS and tell you, as his physician, that he does not want to tell his wife. What would you do? • You are playing tennis with a friend and the ball hits him in the eye. What do you do? • You are taking a final exam and notice a student cheating. What would you do? • If you were a doctor and an underage girl asks you for the Pill or an abortion and she did not want to tell her parents, what would you do? • Should doctors be allowed to “pull the plug” on terminally ill patients? • If a patient is dying from a hemorrhage, would you transfuse blood if you knew they would not approve based on their religion? • Should cloning be legal? Would you clone yourself? Why or why not?

18. Personality-Oriented • How would your friends describe you? • What would your obituary read? • If you could change one this about yourself, what would that be? • What are you best attributes? • What are your worst attibutes? • What is the most important event that happened to you that you are the most proud of?

19. Autobiographical • Where did you grow up? • Do you have any siblings? • What non-academic accomplishments are you most proud of? • Why did you chose to go to X University? • Who is the most important person in your life?

20. Miscellaneous • Should the federal government reinstate the death penalty? Why or why not? • What do you expect to be doing in 10 years? • Why do you want to attend OUR medical school? • What other medical schools have you applied to? • Would you prefer to practice in rural or metropolitan areas? • How did you prepare for this interview? • How would you handle a conflict of interest?

21. Concluding • What would you do if you were not accepted to medical school? • How do you think you did in this interview? • What is the one thing you have not mentioned that you want me to know about yourself? • On a scale from 1-10, how would you rank yourself as a candidate? • What are you most excited about as a potential medical student? • Do you have any questions for me?

22. Concluding Remarks • Be prepared. • Do your homework. • Send thank you cards to your interviewers. • Wait patiently. • Practice with your classmates. • You NEVER get a second chance for a first impression!