interview thoughts

[FunkyFrog994]

I was wondering if I could get some thoughts on a recent interview. Following the initial blind portion of the interview I waited outside the room, while the interviewers reviewed my app. I expected to be asked follow up questions upon reentering the room, however the adcoms simply asked me if I had any questions for them. All I could come up with were questions about the emergency medicine club and potential opportunities for research which all ended up being answered by the 4th year student in the room, I essentially didn't have any questions that were answered by the adcoms... not sure if this is a bad thing. Additionally, as I was leaving I expressed my interest in being involved in pediatrics, but didn't specify ED peds, pedriatic surgery or pediatric cardiology, which is what I meant. I've been told not to specify an area of interest, but It just came out while we were talking and I'm kind of worried it may negatively impact my interview score.

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[IDapplicant]

I was wondering if I could get some thoughts on a recent interview. Following the initial blind portion of the interview I waited outside the room, while the interviewers reviewed my app. I expected to be asked questions upon reentering the room, however the adcoms simply asked me if I had any questions for them. All I could come up with were questions about the emergency medicine club and potential opportunities for research which all ended up being answered by the 4th year student in the room, I essentially didn't have any questions that were answered by by the adcoms. Additionally, as I was leaving I expressed my interest in being involved in pediatrics, but didn't specify ED peds, pedriatic surgery or pediatric cardiology, which is what I meant. I've been told not to specify an area of interest, but It just came out while we were talking and I'm kind of worried it may negatively impact my interview score.

I wouldn’t worry about it, especially where pediatrics is a primary care field, I don’t think it’s bad to express interest. As far as questions for interviewers, I typically ask them things to gauge their feelings about the school like “if you had a child applying to medical school right now, how highly would you want them to consider x school and why?” or how much they feel like they interact with students and whether those interactions have lead to positive changes in the school. Additionally I have asked what type of student they fee would be a good fit for their school.

 

[Goro]

I was wondering if I could get some thoughts on a recent interview. Following the initial blind portion of the interview I waited outside the room, while the interviewers reviewed my app. I expected to be asked questions upon reentering the room, however the adcoms simply asked me if I had any questions for them. All I could come up with were questions about the emergency medicine club and potential opportunities for research which all ended up being answered by the 4th year student in the room, I essentially didn't have any questions that were answered by by the adcoms. Additionally, as I was leaving I expressed my interest in being involved in pediatrics, but didn't specify ED peds, pedriatic surgery or pediatric cardiology, which is what I meant. I've been told not to specify an area of interest, but It just came out while we were talking and I'm kind of worried it may negatively impact my interview score.

You were told wrong.

We Faculty know your interests will change anyway.

 

[Cornfed101]

I wouldn’t worry about it, especially where pediatrics is a primary care field, I don’t think it’s bad to express interest. As far as questions for interviewers, I typically ask them things to gauge their feelings about the school like “if you had a child applying to medical school right now, how highly would you want them to consider x school and why?” or how much they feel like they interact with students and whether those interactions have lead to positive changes in the school. Additionally I have asked what type of student they fee would be a good fit for their school.

Second this. I like to come in with an idea for questions, but I also like to play off of something we talked about in the interview. Something that cannot be answered the same by anybody else. I interviewed with a faculty member that had worked at the school for 20 years after doing med school and residency at another university in the same city. I asked “Why have you stayed at this university that you didn’t have any connection to? What makes it so special?” She answered and then said, “that was an excellent question!”

 

[Rachapkis]

As a threshold matter, many interviewees are nervous and not particularly good judges of how they performed--so, relax. As far as asking questions are concerned, you had questions and they provided answers; I don't think that the person who provided the answers is particularly relevant--so again, relax. On a going forward basis, prior to entering the interview, I would come prepared with 5-10 questions in mind, just in case questions don't organically come to mind during the interview. An Internet search will reveal potential questions that you may wish to consider--e.g. The Best Questions to Ask at Your Medical School Interview — Savvy Pre-Med

 

[deleted804295]

If you ask questions about clubs the adcoms won't be able to answer because they're old and out of medical school.

Formulate questions the night before and ask questions specific to the medical school so that you don't seem lazy.

 

[FatherTime-PhD]

I was wondering if I could get some thoughts on a recent interview. Following the initial blind portion of the interview I waited outside the room, while the interviewers reviewed my app. I expected to be asked follow up questions upon reentering the room, however the adcoms simply asked me if I had any questions for them. All I could come up with were questions about the emergency medicine club and potential opportunities for research which all ended up being answered by the 4th year student in the room, I essentially didn't have any questions that were answered by the adcoms... not sure if this is a bad thing. Additionally, as I was leaving I expressed my interest in being involved in pediatrics, but didn't specify ED peds, pedriatic surgery or pediatric cardiology, which is what I meant. I've been told not to specify an area of interest, but It just came out while we were talking and I'm kind of worried it may negatively impact my interview score.

Try to not worry about it to much.

I think the whole ask good, unique questions thing is overrated. I ask the same questions at every interview

1) how did you choose your specialty
2) why did you choose to work here
3) how’s student wellness here

rarely have I had to ask something outside these basic questions.

 

[landy1130]

@gonnif is 100% right, that dwelling on the perception of your questions will just stress you out.

For future opportunities, I agree with @Cornfed101 that in general asking leading questions about the interviewer's own medical journey/experience can.... 1. Provide you great context on what the interviewer/school/field of medicine is like 2. People generally love talking about themselves, thus taking the pressure off yourself to drive the conversation.

 

[Goro]

Time to trot these out:

• Goro's Guide to YOUR Interview Questions (2018 edition)
• Goro's Guide for YOUR Interview Questions at a DO School (2018 ed.)