Interviews and "touchy" issues

[streetdoc]

Advertisement - Members don't see this ad

I just returned from the most horrible interview experience i think anyone could possibly go through. aside from that, i was wondering if it is seen as "wrong" by these committee people if i answered just about all of the "touchy" questions by not really taking a stance one way or the other, but by suggesting compromises and reasons for why.
for example...Physician assisted suicide---I said that as a patient, i would like the right to chose, but as a physician i would find it difficult to carry out.
that is just one of like 25 ethical/situational/controversial topics covered...I think i've been to hell.
Thanks for any feedback...i pray no one goes through an interview like i had🙁
streetdoc

 

[shamthis]

I think youre in the clear. Carbon makes a good point- interviewers dont expect educated decisions; instead, they seek open-mindedness. Without taking a strong stance on a hyothetcal situation, you introduced the opinions of a patient and provider. Understanding patient's needs and desires is a critical part of being a good doctor. Whether or not the interviewer was impressed, you were not in the wrong.

Take a sigh of relief and wait. I am sorry you're dwelling; I know the feeling...it is awful. Fortunately for you- if this was the worst part of the interview, you have nothing to fret about.

Write a letter and thank your interviewer for giving you a chance to ponder the pros and cons of physician-assisted suicide. Plead meditation.

 

[Adcadet]

I wouldn't sweat it too much. As long as your answers were coherent, I think you'll be fine.

Just out of curiosity, what school?

 

[streetdoc]

Thanks for all the support!
It was horrible, but it did make me think (and sweat/cry/wet my pants). I had considered NOT sending a thank you note, but i will take sham's advice and thank him for making me think.
He really drilled me on religion, future of medicine, healthcare (gov't involvement), abortion, cloning, nothing seemed to be off limits...
He even asked me about neurons and the Kreb's cycle--i fumbled those up but finally got to the answers that he was looking for--
ANYWAY...My second interview was completely different! The school in general is GREAT! I was impressed from beginning to end (except they insisted that the interviews were NO stress). oh well, my experience did not change my over all positive opinion.
the school is the University of South Carolina--public school, not extremely competitive (avg. MCAT about 27), but i never would have thought that from the interview process!
thanks again
streetdoc

 

[kam730]

Just to give you hope...my second interview at one school was awful!! I had already had 4 interviews before it and they had all been laid back, so I thought I was really lucky. Well, it all caught up to me, b/c this interview was the most stressful single hour of my life. First the interviews were supposed to be 30-40 minutes and mine was an hour and 15 minutes. He played devil's advocate the entire time and accused me of hating alcoholics (dont even ask how this came about) among other things, and then asked me point blank if I believe the Bible word for word and when I honestly answered no, he said "so you don't have anything against homosexuals?" in a rude tone. I was somewhat offended and of course answered no. Anyway, at the end he told me he always conducts his interviews in this manner and that I actually held up quite well. He told me flat out he was giving me the highest score and I got my acceptance letter a week later!! What seems like a bad interview might not be the end of the world.

 

[ChEBioEMDCrazE?]

Hey,

After reading the interview feedback forums for USC-School of Medicine, I got to searching for "touchy interview questions" because it seemed like a lot of their questions were political/ethically based. And, lo and behold the thread that popped up was someone with the exact same problem! Except that I haven't interviewed yet and was looking to prepare for this situation. I'm not excited to find that it really is a problem, but I guess it's good to KNOW it's a problem!

Anyway, I like the approach of empathizing with each side, and I think that is one of my strengths to understand the competing interests of different groups as I am pretty objective and ration. But I can see how some interviewer could justify to himself that this is the "wrong" approach.

However, on the other hand, I am a non-traditional who is considering going back to med school motivated partly by the innefficiencies in the system I've experienced due to my personal and family interactions with the medical industry. I came back to Bioengineering thinking that the problems with the industry were technical, but now I'm thinking that they are mostly market-oriented. I guess I'm a different type of idealist, I actually think I could make a difference.

Anyway, I am interested in economics and governmental issues . I DO have strong opinions on some of these questions and was wondering if it is a mistake to go there. I suppose, part of what I'm asking is, do you think the school can be as objective and rational as I am? Or do you think they are judging your answers versus THEIR position on an issue to make sure you are in agreement? I guess if they are that strident and we don't agree then I don't really want to go be 'indoctrinated' by THEIR lack of open-mindedness.

I also have the opinion that some things are just none of their friggin' business. They don't need to know my religion, for example. Is it a mistake to go THERE?

 

[little_late_MD]

I also have the opinion that some things are just none of their friggin' business. They don't need to know my religion, for example. Is it a mistake to go THERE?

As an employer, I know that I am not allowed to ask questions pertaining to religion (or age, or a variety of other things) in applications/interviews. I would think that those questions would be off limits for medical schools as, save for schools like Loma Linda, which I believe are allowed to use that sort of criteria in admissions.

 

[USCguy]

edit: just realized this thread was 4 years old

 

[jmart]

edit: just realized this thread was 4 years old

LOL, so did I. I was like is this for med school or residency?

 

[Depakote]

edit: just realized this thread was 4 years old

 

[ChEBioEMDCrazE?]

It started out 4 years old, but to me it's current. The questions posted on the interview feedback still contain a lot of the same type of questions, so I am guessing it is USC policy to ask such and not just the personality of one interviewer (or maybe that interviewer still does a lot of the interviews).

It would be interesting to know if the original poster started and happily completed their training at USC.

 

[ChEBioEMDCrazE?]

Thanks for the response.

I know there are laws on such things that may or may not apply to schools (funny how quasi-governmental institutions are sometimes exempted from certain laws).

I personally think that they should be allowed to ask, and I should be allowed to say "none of your friggin' business", and they should be allowed to say "fine, go fly a kite," and then I am free to flame them on SDN, and everyone else can make up their own mind.

People can say "I don't want to go to that school!" or they can decide "that kid is just being a pain."

For me, I just want to know beforehand if this is how it is going to go down! I plan to go in with a plan knowing where I am going to draw my boundaries. Heck, maybe they are testing how uncomfortable they can make you feel before you draw a line. I feel like once I know the "rules" then I can play the game.

 

[ChEBioEMDCrazE?]

Oh, I probably wouldn't say "none of your friggin' business" to the interviewer. If they ask me something about my religion I might say something like "before I answer, can you explain to me the relevance of the question?"