Interviews Approaching...What to Study?

[Pickle Salt]

For those of you who've been on interivews at med schools before:

I know that I need to read up on the school I'm interviewing at, and keep an eye on the newspaper, but any other suggestions on what to know?

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[Spiderman [RNA Ladder 2003]]

I haven't have an interview yet but here what I would do if I did have it.
Know some facts about school's history, know what's said in school's mission statement. Read interview feedback on SDN. Think how to answer for the following questions:

1) Why do you want a doctor?
2) Why do you want to go to ______ school?
3) Why should we choose you vs. other people
4) Can you tell me about your strengths/weaknesses?
5) Tell me about your favourite post-secondary experience
6) HOW do you see your practice in 10 years.

 

[DarkChild]

well... definately review your app over and over so you have everything down pat.
also review any research you have done.
know basic stats about the school - i.e. how big, what kind of curriculum, whats are its strengths (i.e. research or primary care - and if research, what are its strongest areas, or the areas that you are most interested in)
also look in to the kind of extracurricular activities available to students; are there any student run clinics for instance...
basically read up as much as you can about the school and use those same facts as reasons for what you want to attend the school. also they can serve as spring boards for questions...
usually at the end of the interview, the interviewer will ask you if you have any questions - thats a good time to show off how much you are know about the school (expressing your interest) by asking some well thought out questions.

 

[Spiderman [RNA Ladder 2003]]

and also, if you were published or did research, you should be able to summarize it with words that everyone can understand.

 

[imtiaz]

take a quick look at CNN's health matters archive. lots of ethical issues, etc. it's a big help. http://www.cnn.com/HEALTH/bioethics/archive.index.html

 

[mpp]

The University of Washington Bioethics website (link) is also excellent.

 

[jot]

that U wash bioethics site is really worth taking a look - a lot of it is common sense, but for some my gut reaction was quite off (note to self: don't give orders to kill patient ... ever).

 

[silvercholla]

SDN INTERVIEW FEEDBACK!!!!!!!!! PEOPLE FILL ONE OUT IF YOU"VE HAD AN INTERVIEW SO THAT WE CAN HELP OUR FELLOW SDNers!!!! YEAH!!!

 

[Laura JC]

I don't think you should spend too much time studying facts and statistics about any school where you interview. I really don't think your interviewer will be impressed or even want to hear about stuff he/she knows you can get off the website or out of a book.

I would choose one aspect of the school that attracts you and be ready to discuss that. Most of the interviewers I spoke with were more interested in my questions than they were in my answers. I had at least a few questions ready for each interview, and I made sure they were not questions I could get out of my own research or from the tour of the school. If I interviewed with a MD, I asked questions about medicine, such as "How much opportunity will I have as a doctor to volunteer my medical services? Is it better to choose a specialty that suits you intellectually or emotionally? What is it about medicine that gives you the most satisfaction, or frustrates you the most?" I asked things like that, which gave the doctor an opportunity to start a discussion with me about things that interested them, and I found a way to connect with them personally. I don't know if it is the traditional way to interview, but it made for a more relaxed time.