Answering the "Age" Question?

[HughMyron]

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I heard that some interviewers ask how your age may affect your performance in medical school. I thought this question was illegal because most hospitals have rules against age discrimination. But I guess not.

If you were very young (<21) or very old (>26 or so), how would you answer this question?

 

[tn4596]

I believe my age will not have any effect on my ability to learn and train as a medical student. Or something along those line. You don't have to answer if you dont want to. It's illegal for em to ask.


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[LizzyM]

There is nothing illegal about asking about how one will approach various situations that may arise. For example, I might ask a 19 year old applicant how they will handle a patient who says they lookg too young to be a doctor and who demands to see someone who is "more mature". On the other hand, a 33 year old applicant might be asked how they feel about taking orders and correction from a much younger chief resident.

There are good and poor answers to these questions and it is the response to the question, not one's chronological age, that is the issue.

If a school was going to discriminate based on age, they could do that without wasting their resources on an interview.

 

[HughMyron]

There is nothing illegal about asking about how one will approach various situations that may arise. For example, I might ask a 19 year old applicant how they will handle a patient who says they lookg too young to be a doctor and who demands to see someone who is "more mature". On the other hand, a 33 year old applicant might be asked how they feel about taking orders and correction from a much younger chief resident.

There are good and poor answers to these questions and it is the response to the question, not one's chronological age, that is the issue.

If a school was going to discriminate based on age, they could do that without wasting their resources on an interview.

Well, from what I understand the patient has the right to ask for another physician, regardless of whether he's concerned about age, sex, race, obesity, whatever. It wouldn't make me happy, but it is my duty to honor his request.

I was more concerned about the generic "do you think your age will affect your performance in medical school" question. I would answer "no, I do not" and leave it at that. Unless they want more, which concerns me.

 

[Barcu]

Well, from what I understand the patient has the right to ask for another physician, regardless of whether he's concerned about age, sex, race, obesity, whatever. It wouldn't make me happy, but it is my duty to honor his request.

I was more concerned about the generic "do you think your age will affect your performance in medical school" question. I would answer "no, I do not" and leave it at that. Unless they want more, which concerns me.

No med school interview questions have yes/no answers.

If they think you may be too young, give an example of maturity or a time when you did something that you were "too young" to do.

 

[sinombre]

Well, from what I understand the patient has the right to ask for another physician, regardless of whether he's concerned about age, sex, race, obesity, whatever. It wouldn't make me happy, but it is my duty to honor his request.

I was more concerned about the generic "do you think your age will affect your performance in medical school" question. I would answer "no, I do not" and leave it at that. Unless they want more, which concerns me.

Why would it concern you if they wanted you to support your answer to their question? Do you actually think your age may affect your performance in medical school, or are you just anxious about how you may answer the question?

 

[HughMyron]

Why would it concern you if they wanted you to support your answer to their question? Do you actually think your age may affect your performance in medical school, or are you just anxious about how you may answer the question?

No, I don't see why my age should be an issue. If I still have the experiences and qualifications that an older person has, why should it make a difference?

 

[MedPR]

No, I don't see why my age should be an issue. If I still have the experiences and qualifications that an older person has, why should it make a difference?

Because you don't have the same experiences or qualifications as an older person. The attitude you are displaying in this thread is exactly why younger people are viewed as immature. You remind me of a 12 year old saying they're a grown up and can take care of themself.

 

[sinombre]

No, I don't see why my age should be an issue. If I still have the experiences and qualifications that an older person has, why should it make a difference?

It shouldn't make a difference, but you should be able to convey that to an admissions committee. Maybe spend a few minutes thinking about how to answer age-related questions before you interview. If you have sufficient experiences/qualifications and can use them to support your answers to interview questions, you'll be fine.

 

[HughMyron]

Because you don't have the same experiences or qualifications as an older person. The attitude you are displaying in this thread is exactly why younger people are viewed as immature. You remind me of a 12 year old saying they're a grown up and can take care of themself.

Ok then, how would you respond to the question? I don't think any of this stuff, I'm just looking for the way to feed the adcom beast.

 

[LizzyM]

No, I don't see why my age should be an issue. If I still have the experiences and qualifications that an older person has, why should it make a difference?

The underlying question is, "do you have the maturity to do well in medical school?"

Let's role play. I'm 88 years old and newly admitted to a teaching hospital with weakness and shortness of breath and you as a third year student are expected to go in and take a history and do a physical exam. You come in and introduce yourself as you were trained to do and I say, "What? You don't look old enough to be in college! You are still wet behind the ears! I already told the doctor in the emergency room what was wrong and that's why I'm here! Where is my doctor? "

How do you handle that?

 

[ModernAlchemist]

Because you don't have the same experiences or qualifications as an older person. The attitude you are displaying in this thread is exactly why younger people are viewed as immature. You remind me of a 12 year old saying they're a grown up and can take care of themself.

Haha 👍

 

[circulus vitios]

I heard that some interviewers ask how your age may affect your performance in medical school. I thought this question was illegal because most hospitals have rules against age discrimination. But I guess not.

If you were very young (<21) or very old (>26 or so), how would you answer this question?

Are you serious?

 

[LizzyM]

Are you serious?

No, just very young. 😀

 

[HughMyron]

The underlying question is, "do you have the maturity to do well in medical school?"

Let's role play. I'm 88 years old and newly admitted to a teaching hospital with weakness and shortness of breath and you as a third year student are expected to go in and take a history and do a physical exam. You come in and introduce yourself as you were trained to do and I say, "What? You don't look old enough to be in college! You are still wet behind the ears! I already told the doctor in the emergency room what was wrong and that's why I'm here! Where is my doctor? "

How do you handle that?

Ok, I'll try to answer this:

"I am a student in medical school, the attending physician has asked me to take a history and perform a physical exam on you."
[She gets mad or whatever]
"I understand your concerns, and the doctor will see you shortly. He has just asked me to find this information to expedite your treatment."
[She is still mad and insists on seeing a doctor.]
"If you insist, I will find the attending physician and notify him of your concerns."


I mean, I don't have a choice if the refuses to speak to me. I can't force her to do anything lol.

No, just very young. 😀

Lol, I was just looking for a number. You can substitute 36 or 46 if its all the same to you 🙂

 

[tn4596]

Because you don't have the same experiences or qualifications as an older person. The attitude you are displaying in this thread is exactly why younger people are viewed as immature. You remind me of a 12 year old saying they're a grown up and can take care of themself.

Unless you are talking about general life experiences, an older and a younger MS3 have exactly the same medical education and training.
Those "what if" questions are what I would prefer on the interview trail. Fair to answer and I would not need to disclose my chronological ages, who know what preconceptions the other person might already have against older or younger applicants.


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[lobo.solo]

Are you serious?

Yeah right!! I thought the average age for entry medical students was like 24-25.

 

[LizzyM]

Ok, I'll try to answer this:

"I am a student in medical school, the attending physician has asked me to take a history and perform a physical exam on you."
[She gets mad or whatever]
"I understand your concerns, and the doctor will see you shortly. He has just asked me to find this information to expedite your treatment."
[She is still mad and insists on seeing a doctor.]
"If you insist, I will find the attending physician and notify him of your concerns."


I mean, I don't have a choice if the refuses to speak to me. I can't force her to do anything lol.

Well, this is a start. Chances are, you don't know the attending and the attending doesn't know you. You are taking direction from the resident who is directing the patient's care under the supervision of an attending physician who may (or may not) be the patient's "attending physician" of record.

The doctor may not see the patient "shortly". You aren't expediting anyone's treatment, you are there to learn how to take a history and physical.

Good luck finding the attending. He (or she) is 15 miles away in an outpatient clinic and won't make rounds until tomorrow morning.


I'm not a physician and I've never attended medical school so this isn't some esoteric knowledge that I have by virtue of being a doc...

I'd deflect some of the objection about my age by saying with a smile, "I guess I have a baby face."😳 Then I would go on with, " I would like to ask you some questions so that we, the team taking care of you, have as much information as possible about your medical history. We'll share this information with the doctors who will be guiding your care. I know that you've been over this with the doctors who took care of you in the emergency department and I hope you'll forgive me if I ask something you told someone earlier, we are trying to be thorough so that we don't overlook something that might help us figure out what's causing your problems and how we can help you to feel better."

Lol, I was just looking for a number. You can substitute 36 or 46 if its all the same to you 🙂

We just find it humorous that someone >26 would be "very old".

 

[username456789]

Unless you are talking about general life experiences

Pretty sure he/she is.

 

[HughMyron]

Well, this is a start. Chances are, you don't know the attending and the attending doesn't know you. You are taking direction from the resident who is directing the patient's care under the supervision of an attending physician who may (or may not) be the patient's "attending physician" of record.

The doctor may not see the patient "shortly". You aren't expediting anyone's treatment, you are there to learn how to take a history and physical.

Good luck finding the attending. He (or she) is 15 miles away in an outpatient clinic and won't make rounds until tomorrow morning.


I'm not a physician and I've never attended medical school so this isn't some esoteric knowledge that I have by virtue of being a doc...

I'd deflect some of the objection about my age by saying with a smile, "I guess I have a baby face."😳 Then I would go on with, " I would like to ask you some questions so that we, the team taking care of you, have as much information as possible about your medical history. We'll share this information with the doctors who will be guiding your care. I know that you've been over this with the doctors who took care of you in the emergency department and I hope you'll forgive me if I ask something you told someone earlier, we are trying to be thorough so that we don't overlook something that might help us figure out what's causing your problems and how we can help you to feel better."

Wow, thanks for all your help. If I get in this cycle, I'll definitely owe much of that to what you've contributed in all my various interview threads.

We just find it humorous that someone >26 would be "very old".

Yeah, I wasn't thinking when I wrote that, I figured that most people considered nontrads to be "old," and most people over 26 would be nontrads.

 

[music2doc]

Wow, thanks for all your help. If I get in this cycle, I'll definitely owe much of that to what you've contributed in all my various interview threads.




Yeah, I wasn't thinking when I wrote that, I figured that most people considered nontrads to be "old," and most people over 26 would be nontrads.

Hahaha... you're kidding, right?

At orientation, my class was told we were "a young class and would need to be watched carefully" ...average age in my class is like 24.5. As another anecdote, when we had our first preceptorship meeting, I counted the people in my group. Some 80% could have been classified as "non-trad" and about 20% were straight out of college. I would estimate that approximately 50-75% of my peers have worked in healthcare in a paid position after college prior to applying to medical school.

You can't tell me their level of experience is identical to the kid that came here right out of UG. You also can't tell me "26" is on the old side for an entering med student. It's slightly above the mean of ~25. The people in my class that I would legitimately call non-trad would be the 30+ crowd, of which we only have a few. When it comes to people who really "stick out," the married with children criterion is probably more important than is age, although I know at least at my school, we mesh very well. I have guy friends in my class who are married and have a kid, but we still hang out. It's really no difference 'cept they have add'l responsibilities back home.

 

[chocofudges]

Hi guys!
I'm 17 and a current M1. When they ask about age (at least in my case), they don't really ask outright "Do you think your age will be a problem?" The assessed me with a combo of several questions including the following (paraphrased, of course).

1. What encouraged you to skip grades?
2. What experiences do you have that qualify you to be a doctor?
3. How do you expect it to be living away from home?

and a couple other open ended questions

They never really brought age up much in my interviews, but they do bring up questions that test if you are mature and if you understand the health care field and what you are getting into. I think they pay particular attention to the way you behave yourself and the thought that goes into your answers. It isn't age in particular that interests them, but rather maturity (which is usually associated with age).

Basically, no matter what age, act mature and be flexible. If they throw oddballs at you and ask you questions you probably won't know the answer to (fortunately this didn't happen to me hahaha), put some clear thought into it and explain your answers.

 

[HughMyron]

Hi guys!
I'm 17 and a current M1. When they ask about age (at least in my case), they don't really ask outright "Do you think your age will be a problem?" The assessed me with a combo of several questions including the following (paraphrased, of course).

1. What encouraged you to skip grades?
2. What experiences do you have that qualify you to be a doctor?
3. How do you expect it to be living away from home?

and a couple other open ended questions

They never really brought age up much in my interviews, but they do bring up questions that test if you are mature and if you understand the health care field and what you are getting into. I think they pay particular attention to the way you behave yourself and the thought that goes into your answers. It isn't age in particular that interests them, but rather maturity (which is usually associated with age).

Basically, no matter what age, act mature and be flexible. If they throw oddballs at you and ask you questions you probably won't know the answer to (fortunately this didn't happen to me hahaha), put some clear thought into it and explain your answers.

Da fuk...17 and am M1?

Ok, I'm not a genius like you. By "young," I meant 21 year old, straight outta college lol.

 

[music2doc]

Da fuk...17 and am M1?

Ok, I'm not a genius like you. By "young," I meant 21 year old, straight outta college lol.

We have a 17 y/o in our class as well. Med schools take a wide range of students, dude.... 🙄

Honestly, unless you ask, you won't really know most people's ages beyond the general range of 17-30-something or whatever they tell you your class's range is.... Most of our class doesn't even know who the 17 y/o is. She fits in fine....

 

[catzzz88]

I heard that some interviewers ask how your age may affect your performance in medical school. I thought this question was illegal because most hospitals have rules against age discrimination. But I guess not.

If you were very young (<21) or very old (>26 or so), how would you answer this question?

Yes.

 

[catzzz88]

Hahaha... you're kidding, right?

At orientation, my class was told we were "a young class and would need to be watched carefully" ...average age in my class is like 24.5. As another anecdote, when we had our first preceptorship meeting, I counted the people in my group. Some 80% could have been classified as "non-trad" and about 20% were straight out of college. I would estimate that approximately 50-75% of my peers have worked in healthcare in a paid position after college prior to applying to medical school.

You can't tell me their level of experience is identical to the kid that came here right out of UG. You also can't tell me "26" is on the old side for an entering med student. It's slightly above the mean of ~25. The people in my class that I would legitimately call non-trad would be the 30+ crowd, of which we only have a few. When it comes to people who really "stick out," the married with children criterion is probably more important than is age, although I know at least at my school, we mesh very well. I have guy friends in my class who are married and have a kid, but we still hang out. It's really no difference 'cept they have add'l responsibilities back home.

Average of 24.5 means very little in this case. What is the median age?

24.5 might be the average, but the bell curve is certainly not centered, its lopsided.

 

[MedPR]

Average of 24.5 means very little in this case. What is the median age?

24.5 might be the average, but the bell curve is certainly not centered, its lopsided.

Then by definition it isn't a bell curve...

 

[darkjedi]

or very old (>26 or so)

TIL I'm very old 🙁

 

[Starlightembers]

I heard that some interviewers ask how your age may affect your performance in medical school. I thought this question was illegal because most hospitals have rules against age discrimination. But I guess not.

If you were very young (<21) or very old (>26 or so), how would you answer this question?

It is absolutely not illegal for them to ask questions that pertain to your maturity, which most associate, rightly or wrongly, with age. It would be illegal if they denied you admission solely based upon your date of birth; however, due to the nature of the process, you would have a very steep, rocky mountain to climb if you wished to support such a claim.

Because you don't have the same experiences or qualifications as an older person. The attitude you are displaying in this thread is exactly why younger people are viewed as immature. You remind me of a 12 year old saying they're a grown up and can take care of themself.

I stand to respectfully disagree with you, MedPR, at least when one compares the age that most applicants are (22-23) with someone who is younger than that. A student who goes through college early is still going to go through college, with all of the extracurricular, personal and social implications of that experience. (The idea that younger college students are all drones who study all day and have no life outside of that is one I have not seen substantiated by any of the various students in such a situation I have interacted with.) If they matriculate into medical school immediately after graduation, as is the typical path, their experiences will not be vastly different than any other recent graduate doing the same. Even if you compare a student who takes a gap year between graduation and matriculation to one who does not, with some notable exceptions, their accumulated life experiences will still be rather similar.

Furthermore, though age and experience are likely to correlate, they do not have to correlate and they do not always. An eighteen year old who has lived on their own, been entirely self-supporting and overcome various hardships throughout their life can very easily have more life experience than the 24 year old who has been supported by family throughout their education, dormed and returned home over breaks throughout college and has spent their 2-3 gap years doing things that, while valuable, do not nessarily lend more experience and maturity than what the 18 year old has experienced.

The underlying question is, "do you have the maturity to do well in medical school?"

Let's role play. I'm 88 years old and newly admitted to a teaching hospital with weakness and shortness of breath and you as a third year student are expected to go in and take a history and do a physical exam. You come in and introduce yourself as you were trained to do and I say, "What? You don't look old enough to be in college! You are still wet behind the ears! I already told the doctor in the emergency room what was wrong and that's why I'm here! Where is my doctor? "

How do you handle that?

As someone who, if accepted on the first attempt, will be barely eighteen on the day of matriculation (17 at the time of application), I would respond (perhaps, with a condensed version):

In this situation, I would realize that, though I may personally feel offended or intimidated by such a comment, it is likely coming from a place of fear, anxiety and/or uncertainty, rather than from true aggression. Illness, especially when it necessitates a trip to the emergency department, is a frightening event that can spur a lot of painful emotions; this is, of course, on top of the physical pain and discomfort that a patient would already be experiencing. I would expect a person in such a situation to be on edge, irritable and react in ways that a clam, healthy preceptor or teacher following a script would not. And, no matter if I look like an 18 year old or a 24 year old, let's face it: it would be obvious I'm a student, still in training and presumably inexperienced. To a frightened patient in acute distress, that is not exactly a reassuring thought. He just wants to get treated and get better -- not be someone's guinea pig or trial run!

Depending on the specific demeanor of the patient, I would likely attempt to begin with a little bit of self-deprecating humor concerning my age ("I know I look young. I never did lose that pesky baby fat around my face!" or whatever it may be) in an attempt to calm the situation. Obviously, I would keep it appropriate and refrain from overdoing it; but, I think that being able to laugh at oneself and take the comments in stride in this situation is an important skill. Becoming overly defensive or nervous is just going to confirm the patient's fears, making me feel poorly about the interaction and giving him a very much unneeded spike in blood pressure. After all, as noted above, it's not personal; it's not about me at all.

From there, I would take a moment to validate what he is feeling (note: not his opinions about my age and ability). I would tell him that I understand/can imagine this all must be/feel rather stressful and overwhelming. I would acknowledge that that being sick is never fun and assure him that we're going to do our best to have him feeling better as quickly as possible. I would then point out that to do that we have to collect as much information about what is going on as possible, even if that sometimes means repeating questions or tests, so that we can figure out what is causing his symptoms (I may name them to show him that I have read/reviewed his chart and am actually knowledgeable about his case). I would tell him that is what I am here for: to help collect that information so that the team has the best chance of helping him. I would explain what I am planning to do (ask some questions, listen to his heart, whatever it may be), both to remove some of the uncertainty about what is going on [and, to him, it would seem like quite a bit of stressful events are occurring all at once] and to show that I have a solid grip on what I am doing, even if I am internally freaking out a bit about doing everything right.

Hopefully, all of this would reassure him enough that he would allow me to do the H&P. If not and he was still demanding to see a physician, depending on the level of hostility present, I would make another attempt to deduce what his fears are and reassure him. I may ask if there is anything that would make him more comfortable during this process and see if there is anything I can [reasonably] do to put him more at ease. If, after those attempts, he is still unconvinced, I would, in a non-aggressive manner, be honest with him. I would inform him that, though the entire team is committed to ensuring he receives the highest quality of care (and he will get the attention he deserves), that there are quite a few patients in equally dire circumstances, which has caused everyone to be quite busy, and that I cannot promise him that a fully-trained physician will be available to do the H&P anytime soon and he may be waiting there quite awhile. I would tell him that, by allowing me to the H&P, it is ensuring that, as soon as the doctor does become available, (s)he already has all the information and can hopefully get right to diagnosing and treating him; if the H&P reveals something that cannot wait, it will ensure he receives prompt treatment. I would, once again, validate his fears; but stand firm to what I am saying.