interview help please

[dodo24]

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I have a couple of questions i needed help on for my interview....

1. Where do i see myself 10 years from now?
2. If i dont get into medical school what will i be doing?
3. What are your strengths and weaknesses?
4. Why not a nurse instead of a doctor?

I kow these questions are basically specfic to me but if anyone can give me some insight it will be greatly helpful thanks

 

[drlexygoat]

dodo,

I don't think there's a wrong way to answer most of these questions, so long as you're honest! It's a lot harder to try to make up answers you think your interviewer wants to hear than to answer truthfully, I swear.

It's important to think about these questions, because they are pretty common ones. I know I "rehersed" my answers out loud in the shower a few days before my interview just to see if I sounded like an idiot or not to a few sample questions. It may help you!

As far as the 10 yr question, that's a completely different answer for every person. For strengths, be honest. For weakenesses, I'd go with something like "I overanalyze things", etc (can be a positive in some light).

Just show your interviewer that you have a brain and you can complete sentences. That's all they want to hear.

good luck!

 

[Amy B]

Unfortunetly these questions are something that only you can answer. We don't have insight into your mind to be very helpful. Take time to sit down and reflect on each question and the answers should come to you.

 

[mamitch4]

1. I wasn't sure exactly where I saw myself in 10 yrs. either. You might do some research here into what a school's mission is. Are they trying to produce primary care physicians? Physicians for a certain area? Physicians that do research?
2. This could be checking into your dedication to medicine. Are you going to reapply? If so, how will you improve your application?
4. Probably not cool to mention the large salary difference...

 

[Fenrezz]

I hate these kinds of questions. I've come to the conclusion that the purpose of the interview is not to see what kind of person you are, but to judge the level of your bullshyt. They force you to lie, or at least, bend the truth to the breaking point.

Most people are not going to answer these questions truthfully, especially the first one. Who the hell knows where you'll end up in 10 years? Just play the game and tell them what they want to hear. So much the better if what they want to hear is really the truth!

1. "In 10 years I see myself working for free treating only poor people with no concerns about money or paying off my loans blah blah"

2. Always tell them you'll apply again next year. If they ask you to assume you never get into medical school, I'd say something like "I'll probably volunteer 40 hours a week at the local hospital for free, on my off time from whatever job I can get that is as medically related as possible, because I love helping people blah blah"

3. "The same as every single person that came before me... strengths: hard worker, love helping people, blah blah.... weakness: i'm a perfectionist/overachiever blah blah."

4. "because I enjoy the challenge of medicine blah blah dedicate my life to medicine blah blah love helping people blah blah"

As you can see I'm not a big fan of the interview process.

 

[fierce tiger]

When I was preparing for my interview I had my mom and sister ask me a list of interview questions that I got from different people's interviews. This helped me to become comfortable with different questions and also I got some feedback as to how I was perceived. Just be completely honest and take some time to think about who you are and where you want to be in the future.

 

[Aaron Earles]

Dodo24,

The best advice that I can give is to be honest. I have been interviewed several times for different entering classes. With the exception of one school, I was asked question 1) Where do you see yourself in 10 years? I was asked the question about what if you dont get accepted. I can give you some advice on the answer to this question. If you are currently working, or plan to work in your undergraduate degree area, I would say that "I will continue to work in ....... and reapply until I get accepted. I used this at one of my interviews this year and the interviewer said that the schools like to hear that because it shows dedication and determination. Others may have better advice about this question though. I agree with one of the previous users about making a weakness seem positive (I think the example was overanalyzing things).

Finally, I can guarantee that you will be asked why a physician. I suggest that you think long and hard about the answer to this question. They will know if you are lying to them. Be honest. Remember, if you got an interview, there is something about your application that they were interested in. Trust me, if you go in with confidence and know your motivation for wanting to practice medicine, you will be fine.

Good luck to you during your interviews!

 

[futuredo32]

I think that med schools want to know that you will be involved with your community in 10 years(at least that is the advice I recieved from a Kaplan instructor). I do agree with the previous dvice of being honest though. Most med schools if not all strive to have diverse class, and if all interviewees gave the same answer, that wouldn't set them apart. Hope that helps
Good Luck to you!

 

[Monkeyguts]

I got the ten year question, and I said that it would be tough to do volunteering etc. because of loans and the cost to set up a practice etc.,etc., etc.

My interviewer told me that his brother was starting a practice and was having the exact same issues as I had brought up, and went on to say that anybody who did not concern themselves with these issues was either too short sighted, or was blowing smoke up his a$$.