shy people

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I am a pretty shy person and i was wonder how will the interviewers look at this when they speak to me? any other shy people out there, how did you guys do on your interviews?

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i was surprisingly calm during my interviews. i figured i'd have problems so i did a mock interview first. my voice was shaking through the whole thing, my hands were twitching, and at the end i broke down and cried for absolutely no reason.

when i started interviewing, i just focused on the conversation and not on trying to impress the person. every now and then, i start to get the shaky voice, but i just get through it and then take deep breaths while the person responds.

just be you and don't psyche yourself out.
 
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If you feel your shyness will be a problem (to the point where it will negatively impact your interviews), I recommend that you do practice interviews. If you have a career services office that offers practice interviews, take advantage of that. If not, you can find a physician or someone you know with good interviewing skills and have them ask you typical (and not so typical) med school interview questions, and have them comment on your interview skills.
 
I learned to be comfortable with the fine art of not putting my foot in my mouth from starting a long conversation with strangers. Practice speaking to random folks at parties, bars, meetings, or whenever it's appropriate.
 
Try having a conversation right before the interview that leaves a smile on your face. Call up a friend and talk about something funny. There's no confidence like walking into a room smiling at a private joke.
 
I am a pretty shy person and i was wonder how will the interviewers look at this when they speak to me? any other shy people out there, how did you guys do on your interviews?

I'm pretty reserved too. One of my interviews went sour because of this, but it worked out in the end. I think the key is to be natural so that your personality comes through. This might sound lame, but a great way to do that is to work on a natural smile that is used appropriately. It will go a long way in making your interviewer comfortable with you and in turn you with your interviewer.
 
Yea, a year ago, I was dreading the interview part of the process. I thought that would be most challenging for me. But, now, after having done a couple of interviews, I've found them to be pleasantly enjoyable. Often we deal with med schools only through status pages and mass emails. The interview is a chance for us to interact personally with a representative of the school.
 
I would say I'm pretty shy as well. It's not easy for me to start and continue conversations. But at the same time, I sort of get into a zone when I'm forced to interact..ie. during interviews. I've done pretty well. I end up smiling a lot and talking rather much. My interviewers even mentioned that I don't come across shy at all (after I told them I'm reserved). It's sort of like acting I guess. In fact, a lot of famous actors/comedians are actually very quiet in real life.

So don't worry if you're usually reserved. Honestly, the best advice I can give you is to just smile when you respond and be enthusiastic. Quiet + smile = sweet. Quiet + frown = disturbed.
 
if you're shy as in hestitant to speak that may be a bad thing. They don't want to pull teeth to get something out of you! you have to be able to express yourself but don't have to be extremely talkative. you just have to say the right things to make you sound mature and intelligent. its quality of talk not quantity that matters
 
I am a pretty shy person and i was wonder how will the interviewers look at this when they speak to me? any other shy people out there, how did you guys do on your interviews?

im the EXACT same way. i respond VERY concisely to questions that people ask me (which seems to be a bad thing to do). i think it's important to make a list of points you want to get across to the interviewer (your personal characteristics) and being able to tie them into the reponses you give to their questions. that way you don't sound disinterested by giving quick, short replies. iono, seems like it may work...:confused:
 
If you feel your shyness will be a problem (to the point where it will negatively impact your interviews), I recommend that you do practice interviews. If you have a career services office that offers practice interviews, take advantage of that. If not, you can find a physician or someone you know with good interviewing skills and have them ask you typical (and not so typical) med school interview questions, and have them comment on your interview skills.

Yes, practice is key. Do mock interviews. Take a public speaking course. Practice in front of friends, family. It makes a huge difference.

And overcoming shyness is not a skill that you only need for the interview. In a few years you are going to be interviewing a half dozen patients a day, trying to build rapport with these strangers, find out things they may not even want to tell you. You are going to be making presentations to residents and attendings on a daily basis. Basically like doing a series of interviews every day for most rotations. You are going to have to learn to like the limelight because that's what the clinical side of medicine is all about -- it's a service industry, and you are going to be at the front line interacting with the customers. So time to check that shyness at the door because honestly it won't serve you well in this field. Easier said than done, I know, but time to start working on it.
 
I've been pretty shy my entire life, even a bit now. About a year before medschool application, I really tried to work on it. Going out and forcing myself to meet new people. Very awkward and uncomfortable at first, but you eventually get used to it.

I think it's helpful to have a sense of humor so whenever you do something "inappropriate," you can laugh about it later, or to ease the tension, bring it up then and then laugh about it.

Fast forward to interview. It's ok to be shy, just be POLITE. Smile! watch what you say (the rule if you have nothing nice to say, dont say it plays in HUGE here). I think one of the easiest things for a shy person to do is to come off as very professional. I just focused on carrying a professional image, and talk whenever I had something meaningful to say. Don't worry, being shy, you probably wont be able to force yourself to say too much but say as much as you can, and you'll be hitting about the right amount compared to non-shy ppl. Well, that's my view on myself in shy situations, I'm sure some ppl fit, some ppl don't. My 2 cents.
 
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I consider myself a shy person too but I was comfortable in the interview. Like previously said, most of the correspondence between yourself and the medical schools is via the internet so I found that I was looking forward to the interview since I could finally talk to them face to face. My advice would be to try some mock interviews and during the interview to just be comfortable and be yourself. I think the interviewer wants to see that you are mature, have put some thought into your decisions, and can support any answer you give him with appropriate information. Good luck.
 
So, if you are working as a physician in a clinic, you'd likely see a patient for a 15-minute visit. During that 15-minute visit, you will spend no less than 10 minutes involved in conversation. If it comes across during the interview that that would be challenging for you, that will be a negative. Being shy is okay, but there has to be a professional override switch to be able to do medicine. Interviewers may have questions about your application, etc, but ultimately what is being evaluated is what you are like to interact with and whether you think well, communicate well, and present yourself professionally.
 
I'm not shy at all, but this is how I approach a situation: I just pretend in my mind that the person is an old friend of mine, and we're already very comfortable with each other.
 
Why would you go into a people-centric occupation such as medicine if you're shy? The world only needs so many pathologists. :p
 
Why would you go into a people-centric occupation such as medicine if you're shy? The world only needs so many pathologists. :p

There are also radiologists and anesthesiologists, who for the most part, spend a limited amount of time having conversations with patients.

Heck, even surgeons, spend most of their time in the OR.
 
being shy doesn't mean you're not good with people. most often it's because you don't like forcing conversation with people until you know them better.
 
There are also radiologists and anesthesiologists, who for the most part, spend a limited amount of time having conversations with patients.

This isn't really true. First, in both these fields you are going to have to get through the clinical years of med school and then do a year of internship in medicine. Secondly, the anesthesiologists have to take a history and discuss the procedure/risks with every patient before they put them under.
 
This isn't really true. First, in both these fields you are going to have to get through the clinical years of med school and then do a year of internship in medicine. Secondly, the anesthesiologists have to take a history and discuss the procedure/risks with every patient before they put them under.

Yes, but three years in the grand scheme of things is not very long. The OP is unlikely to suffer any deleterious consequences from being too shy during that time aside from possibly weaker assessments from the clinical team in the clinical years of medical school.

And an anesthesiologist may spend 10 minutes talking to the patient, followed by 3 hours of being in the OR...repeat 3 times a day = only 30 minutes of patient interaction/day....at least that was my experience shadowing anesthesiologists.
 
I'm also very shy, but I don't a have problem giving a speech or discussing things with people when I have information to tell them. I think my problem is more with small talk and social situations. For example, sometimes when I find myself in a large group, I have a hard time thinking of something to add to the conversation. :(
 
For example, sometimes when I find myself in a large group, I have a hard time thinking of something to add to the conversation. :(

I often experience the same, especially because the topic of conversation either keeps changing or because it often can change to a topic on which I have little to add. I find the key in this situation is to ask a follow-up question to a comment someone else makes. I do prefer one-on-one interactions though.
 
I'm not shy...until it comes to talking about my own achievements. I'm pretty bad at trying to sell myself, it always comes out vaguely sarcastic and bumbling because I'm blushing like crazy. I dunno, I grew up with the whole "modesty" thing drilled into me, so while I can small talk and discuss things with people just fine, I am stupidly awkward and self conscious when I get asked questions like "so why do you think you're a better applicant than the rest?" or open ended questions designed for you to bring out your own strong points/accomplishments, etc.

Sigh...I talk to strangers plenty, but it never really comes up in other conversations, haha. "Hi random person I"d like to talk to you about why I rock..."
 
Being shy isn't a bad thing, nor is it a bad thing wanting to go into medicine as a shy person. I'm an extremely shy person and I didn't have any problems with the interviews. Everyone that was interviewing and the people at the hospital were really nice so I felt comfortable and relaxed. Like everyone else said, get practice doing mock interviews and talking to people. I also used the section, here on SDN (http://share.studentdoctor.net/interview/school_pick.aspx ) that has previously asked questions, and wrote out answers to all of them. That helped a lot because all of the questions they asked at the interview, I already had an answer for.
 
I am a pretty shy person and i was wonder how will the interviewers look at this when they speak to me? any other shy people out there, how did you guys do on your interviews?

i'm not quite sure if i'm shy, but i'm definitely not an extrovert...and i attended to 3 interviews (canceled the others) and got accepted to 2 of them.

to be honest, before the interviews i was scared, because i knew that i had to be very outspoken to impress my interviewers with my answers..then i realized that i'm gonna be doctor, and i've all the qualifications to be a doctor..so i really don't need to impress them...i just need to tell them my stories and all the things that i have done in my life. so during the interviews, i laughed, showed my emotions, did a lot of hand movements, asked questions, and made the whole thing look very very informal.

i actually love doing interviews...i feel very comfortable talking to older educated people. i'm more shy when it comes to dealing with people of my own age.
most of our young people are just bloody idiots anyways...no offense.
 
I'm pretty shy too and always have been. For me, since I'm more of an introvert, I always came away from interview days literally drained from having to talk with everyone (other fellow introverts identify with this?). Had to go back and recharge my batteries afterwards. I think I knew that being quiet would hurt me so I always forced myself to talk a lot when I went into an interview, to put on a big smile, to make eye contact (for some reason I always have trouble with this) and to stay engaged. I guess it's just something you've got to man up and take. Interestingly, the more you do it, the easier it gets and the less energy it takes; so I totally agree with the earlier posters: practice, practice, practice. I called up the different offices around my school and scheduled practice interviews and I practiced with friends and by myself. Writing out answers to sterotypical questions (why be a doctor? why go here? tell me about your research?) the night before every interview made it a lot easier for me, because when I was asked these questions I would always have the answer preformulated and material to draw from. That way I would only have to focus on my delivery, and to be honest I think it's the open, friendly delivery they are looking for in addition to the content. Having done the research about the school ahead of time will give you more confidence. Just don't worry about it so much; be comfortable and let yourself shine thru and you will do just fine.
 
I'm pretty shy too and always have been. For me, since I'm more of an introvert, I always came away from interview days literally drained from having to talk with everyone (other fellow introverts identify with this?)


Man, I didn't know other people felt like this. I totally get you.
 
I am a pretty shy person and i was wonder how will the interviewers look at this when they speak to me? any other shy people out there, how did you guys do on your interviews?

"Shyness often stems from a lack of self-confidence and from too much attachment to formalities and social conventions. We are prisoners of the self-image we wish to present to others. Our behaviour then becomes artificial and our natural tendencies can sometimes remind us of this quite forcefully. When we have an urgent need to empty our bladder, we can pretend for a while that all is well but we cannot let the situation go on too long."

--H.H The XIV Dalai Lama
 
I'm not shy...until it comes to talking about my own achievements. I'm pretty bad at trying to sell myself, it always comes out vaguely sarcastic and bumbling because I'm blushing like crazy. I dunno, I grew up with the whole "modesty" thing drilled into me, so while I can small talk and discuss things with people just fine, I am stupidly awkward and self conscious when I get asked questions like "so why do you think you're a better applicant than the rest?" or open ended questions designed for you to bring out your own strong points/accomplishments, etc.

Sigh...I talk to strangers plenty, but it never really comes up in other conversations, haha. "Hi random person I"d like to talk to you about why I rock..."

I know exactly how you feel
 
And an anesthesiologist may spend 10 minutes talking to the patient, followed by 3 hours of being in the OR...repeat 3 times a day = only 30 minutes of patient interaction/day....at least that was my experience shadowing anesthesiologists.

Actually in only a portion of procedures is the patient going to be under. So the typical anesthesiologist may find themselves having to talk to that patient, keep them calm and distracted, for the full three hours 3 times a day. And if you are doing epidurals and other short procedures, you may be doing far more than 3 procedures a day. So I'm not sure your shadowing was representative of what all anesthesiologists do.

At any rate, doctors of all kinds will have to interact with patients daily. Which is why the interview is given so much weight on admissions. This is a service industry, and you are expected to interact with the customers (patients), and the team fairly regularly. You don't get to be the smart wallflower -- you will often be the center of attention in medicine. As a med student and intern/resident, you are going to be expected to build rapport with the patient while asking them uncomfortable questions about their condition, sexual proclivities, bowel activity and drug habits, and then present the patient to the team, who may pimp you mercilessly on obscure side effects of meds the patient is on or other exam findings you might expect of someone in the patient's condition; you will sometimes be expected to explain things and console the family afterwards and will have a variety of other interactions with patients, families, other physicians. If you are shy, you will need to overcome it. If you dread being the focus of the room, overcome it. Rads, Gas, path and other consultation specialties may offer a lesser degree of interaction, but not none, and all these fields have become more interactive over time.
 
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