interview: how much do I have to know?

[learnmdabc]

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From what I have seen on this board, many of you SDNers are informed about: healthcare, ethics, and patient-physician dynamics. And with this informativeness naturally come strong opinions.

I can't say the same for myself. I am not that informed and I am not that opinionated. So I'm worried about my interviews. I have kept up with healthcare issues to the extent that I can understand what I see and read the news comfortably. I have also read enough about ethics to talk about patient autonomy, beneficence, and maleficence, to think through hypothetical situations.

But I have know no claim to really know the issues. That is, if you press me on lots of these issues, you'll probably find that I can't explain the nitty-gritty economics behind why public option might crowd out private insurance companies; that I can't explain how HMOs function beyond a superficial description; that I can't explain, specifically, why the doctors' insurance paper work is burdensome and prevents them from seeing their patients for prolonged periods of time.

How much do I really need to know for interviews? I know that this question is incredibly vague. I just don't want to sound like an unprepared a s s h o l e during my interviews. I just feel like there is so much to know, and that it's not possible to "brush up" on healthcare or ethics.

Any comments? Ideas? Cheers!

 

[Quicky]

I've been on 5 interviews so far and have yet to be asked a question about ethics, health care reform, etc. You definitely need to be able to have a convincing answer for "why this school" and "why medicine" because I've gotten those two at every interview. In my experience, the schools I've been to care a lot more about who you are and if you're a good fit than whether you can debate policy. These schools all conduct "conversational" interviews, though.

 

[Exalya]

I think that these specifics you're talking about are more specific than most interviews get. At my interview I was asked about healthcare reform, and gave my opinion on some things that would help... but you must understand, your interviewer isn't asking you to write public policy, they're trying to assess whether or not you're intellectually curious and understand that these issues are complex and important. There's only so much you can say during the course of the interview, so by the sound of it, you know about as much as you'll need to know.

 

[learnmdabc]

Thanks for your responses guys. I'm just a bit nervous as I'm not good at selling myself and my stats/ecs make the average Joe look like James Dean.

 

[Quicky]

Thanks for your responses guys. I'm just a bit nervous as I'm not good at selling myself and my stats/ecs make the average Joe look like James Dean.

You might want to check out the interview feedback page for the school(s) you're interviewing at. You can usually get a good sense about what the interviews are like at each school and if you're likely to get grilled about ethics and reform. I like to see what people put for the 'most difficult question' line.

 

[learnmdabc]

yeah, thanks! I actually looked at the interview feedback for UW (my first choice and my first interview coming up). And from what I gather, UW always presents bunch of ethical questions regarding patient autonomy, etc.

You might want to check out the interview feedback page for the school(s) you're interviewing at. You can usually get a good sense about what the interviews are like at each school and if you're likely to get grilled about ethics and reform. I like to see what people put for the 'most difficult question' line.

 

[pharaoh88]

I have been on eight so far. Being a philosophy major, I definitely expected ethical questions. However, we spent far more time in all interviews discussing personal issues, interests, hobbies, etc. Be more prepared for conversations than interrogations.

 

[learnmdabc]

Thanks for your advice, man. I was thinking that I might become a grilled cheese sandwich at the end of all my interviews.

I'm a bit wary of treating the interviews too conversationally, though. I'm the king of self-deprecative humor (oxymoron?) so I have to holdback on some of that, for sure.

8 interviews? That's amazing... 0_0

I have been on eight so far. Being a philosophy major, I definitely expected ethical questions. However, we spent far more time in all interviews discussing personal issues, interests, hobbies, etc. Be more prepared for conversations than interrogations.

 

[OpalOnyx]

😎

I have been on eight so far. Being a philosophy major, I definitely expected ethical questions. However, we spent far more time in all interviews discussing personal issues, interests, hobbies, etc. Be more prepared for conversations than interrogations.

yeah thank goodness for conversational interviews.

And go you with the eight! Hope you get into the one(s) you want! 👍

 

[mvenus929]

I had an interview with a lawyer, who asked a ton of ethical questions surrounding end-of-life and euthanasia, abortion, malpractice, etc. The abortion one wasn't the typical one, either... it was about whether or not you'd recommend abortion to a mother who refuses to give up crack/cocaine who said she was going to carry the pregnancy to term. That was a dicey question...

Both of the interviews I had today asked me for a quick summary about what I'd do to change healthcare, and I gave a very vague option that may or may not work, but basically said I don't know if it'll do anything and I don't know what to do in the long run. My second interviewer basically said Congress doesn't know either and joked about it for a moment.

 

[kia ora]

yeah, thanks! I actually looked at the interview feedback for UW (my first choice and my first interview coming up). And from what I gather, UW always presents bunch of ethical questions regarding patient autonomy, etc.

read through the UW bioethics website. definitely expect an ethical question or two. also expect to be asked some sort of policy question re: health care reform. it doesn't matter so much what your position is as long as you can explain it, and your rationale for having that position, logically and intelligently