Interview help!!! where to start??

[kfsa1]

Hi guys,
I've been extremely busy with my new job lately so I haven't been able to start preparing for interviews. I was wondering if the SDN could point me in the right direction?

To start off, my one and only interview is in 2 weeks. I have literally not touched any interview material so I hope I can be prepared in time. My biggest problem is that I am very ignorant regarding current events and issues. I have a vague idea of what the health care reform bill mandates but I don't have all the facts straight so I can't even speculate on what kind of effects it could have in medicine.

I would really appreciate it if someone could help me get started.

Thanks alot for any help in advance!

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[NickNaylor]

Easy things you can do:

1) Go over your application, know the high points of activities so that you can mention what's most important
2) DEFINITELY know how to answer the "why medicine?" question
3) Do some quick research on the school your interviewing at - what aspects about their institution are of interest to you? Why did you apply there? If you're lucky the tour/info sessions will be before the interview and this won't be too important

What NOT to do:
1) Rehearse answers. Come up with thoughts, but absolutely do not sit down and practice saying your answers. It'll be obvious that you rehearsed them.
2) Get freaked out.

If you know your application well and you've made a concerted effort to think about why you're becoming a doctor, you'll be fine. If you can talk to people, it shouldn't be too difficult at all as long as you don't psych yourself out.

Best of luck.

 

[jyb5011]

Why don't you just read up on what is in the new healthcare bill? Every time you don't understand something, look it up and that way you will learn a lot of info about it and the healthcare system.

 

[BrainBuff]

Easy things you can do:

1) Go over your application, know the high points of activities so that you can mention what's most important
2) DEFINITELY know how to answer the "why medicine?" question
3) Do some quick research on the school your interviewing at - what aspects about their institution are of interest to you? Why did you apply there? If you're lucky the tour/info sessions will be before the interview and this won't be too important

What NOT to do:
1) Rehearse answers. Come up with thoughts, but absolutely do not sit down and practice saying your answers. It'll be obvious that you rehearsed them.
2) Get freaked out.

If you know your application well and you've made a concerted effort to think about why you're becoming a doctor, you'll be fine. If you can talk to people, it shouldn't be too difficult at all as long as you don't psych yourself out.

Best of luck.

+1

And if you happen to have a panel interview and are paired with other interviewees, make sure that you are gracious and respectful to the others even if you disagree. The panel is looking to see how you interact with future classmates and not at your specific answer.

 

[NickNaylor]

Why don't you just read up on what is in the new healthcare bill? Every time you don't understand something, look it up and that way you will learn a lot of info about it and the healthcare system.

This would also be a good idea, though I've been disappointed with the frequency of political/ethical questions. Of the eight interviews I've been to, only two asked about healthcare and one asked an ethical question. Maybe it's just the schools I've been to. Regardless, I think it's good information to know as a future doctor even if you're not asked about it during interviews.

 

[jyb5011]

This would also be a good idea, though I've been disappointed with the frequency of political/ethical questions. Of the eight interviews I've been to, only two asked about healthcare and one asked an ethical question. Maybe it's just the schools I've been to. Regardless, I think it's good information to know as a future doctor even if you're not asked about it during interviews.

Still good to know since we are all affected in one way or another by the new reform

 

[enterthepanda]

Here's a pretty thorough site: http://harvardmedgirl.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2009-07-29T15:08:00-04:00&max-results=10

 

[georgearms]

Before my interview, the only thing I was really freaked out about was getting asked questions about medical ethics. So I found this site pretty interesting - http://www.scu.edu/ethics/practicing/focusareas/cases.cfm?fam=HEALTH - the cases were fun to read, and I felt more confident going into my interviews, even though all the health policy/ethics questions I've been asked have been super broad. Also, some advice a few med students gave me - if the interviewers ask you a question and you don't know the answer, just say "I don't know" - they can tell if you're trying to BS or gloss it over

 

[ammarsfound]

The university of washington has a couple of ethics problems with answers. It's a good way to practice for ethics questions IMO.

I've been on a few interviews so far, and haven't encountered any ethics questions or questions about healthcare. I kind of wish i did, since it's easier to solve a problem during an interview than to talk about yourself.