interviews: MD or student?

[doctoresse]

I wanted to have your take on this: would you rather be interviewed by a student or a MD? I have had all MD interviews so far and like them. However I thought that maybe having a student interview would be a little easier. at one school another interviewee told me that he hated student interview because they are more confrontational. Is it true? Do you think there is a reason why some people get MD and student interviews when others get 2 MD interviews? I am a non-trad applicant so I assume that they believe that 2 MD would be better qualified to judge me than a student. What do you guys think?

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[Ashanti Rock]

I wanted to have your take on this: would you rather be interviewed by a student or a MD? I have had all MD interviews so far and like them. However I thought that maybe having a student interview would be a little easier. at one school another interviewee told me that he hated student interview because they are more confrontational. Is it true? Do you think there is a reason why some people get MD and student interviews when others get 2 MD interviews? I am a non-trad applicant so I assume that they believe that 2 MD would be better qualified to judge me than a student. What do you guys think?

At some schools the student interview is part of the process, so you have no choice. I don't mind Students as long as they have experience and know how to run an interview. At one of my schools, the student had never done one and I pretty much carried the entire process! Would have much rather had an MD!

 

[nicholasblonde]

At some schools the student interview is part of the process, so you have no choice. I don't mind Students as long as they have experience and know how to run an interview. At one of my schools, the student had never done one and I pretty much carried the entire process! Would have much rather had an MD!

I would take an MD (or Ph.D.--you know Ph.D.'s interview also ;->) over a student any day of the week. I would rather be in an inferior position to someone who is older and wiser than me than someone who might be a 1st year/2nd year, who is really not that much older or more mature in terms of life experience...I don't wanna get on that topic, but really--do you want someone who is only 0-2 years older than you sitting in judgement over you??? I would rather be judged by someone who has been through it all, and still standing--an M.D.

 

[potato51]

I would take an MD (or Ph.D.--you know Ph.D.'s interview also ;->) over a student any day of the week. I would rather be in an inferior position to someone who is older and wiser than me than someone who might be a 1st year/2nd year, who is really not that much older or more mature in terms of life experience...I don't wanna get on that topic, but really--do you want someone who is only 0-2 years older than you sitting in judgement over you??? I would rather be judged by someone who has been through it all, and still standing--an M.D.

Never had a student interview me, but from the stories I've heard, I much prefer the MD interviewer who's been through the entire process. I might even prefer PhD's over the MD's, as I think they're more likely to see through the BS some put on their applications.

 

[princessd3]

I had my first ever student interview at Pritzker. It was great. I felt much more confident. That being said I probably would prefer to interview with an MD because I just have a feeling those would hold more weight at committee meetings.

 

[desertdr]

I'll jump on the bandwagon and also prefer an MD/PhD over a student. I've interviewed with all 3 (MD/PhD/student) and all of them have gone well. However, like others have said, it seems odd at times when you're being judged by someone your own age.

Granted I think there are a couple of circumstances that may skew the whole experience. If it's a "get to know you" interview, I think there may be less of a difference between a Doc and a student. However, if the interview had a more technical bent, I would much rather prefer a Doc vs. a student just because I think someone "older" and more mature would have more experience dealing with people who have different views on healthcare issues and ethics.

Now, in terms of MD vs. PhD, I just came back from an interview where I had both. The PhD definitely stressed research more than medical ethics/why medicine whereas the MD was more concerned with finding if medicine was fit for me and vice versa. Of course, the fact that I have a PhD might have had some bearing on the interviews...

 

[Its_MurDAH]

I would take an MD (or Ph.D.--you know Ph.D.'s interview also ;->) over a student any day of the week. I would rather be in an inferior position to someone who is older and wiser than me than someone who might be a 1st year/2nd year, who is really not that much older or more mature in terms of life experience...I don't wanna get on that topic, but really--do you want someone who is only 0-2 years older than you sitting in judgement over you??? I would rather be judged by someone who has been through it all, and still standing--an M.D.

I agree.

I recently had a student interview and she was an M-2. I was being asked questions like "what are your motivations for medicine?" and "what can you bring to X school?". As i was answering her questions, I couldn't help but be irritated. I kept thinking "why do i have to answer all these personal questions from a f*ckin med student who is barely older than me"

Thank god she wasn't a total bitch.

 

[kalenakai]

I prefer the MD over the student interviewer (had my first experience at USC Keck 2 weeks ago)

 

[LizzyM]

I agree.

I recently had a student interview and she was an M-2. I was being asked questions like "what are your motivations for medicine?" and "what can you bring to X school?". As i was answering her questions, I couldn't help but be irritated. I kept thinking "why do i have to answer all these personal questions from a f*ckin med student who is barely older than me"

Thank god she wasn't a total bitch.

As a third year, you may going to be taking orders and answering questions from an intern who is barely older than you are. As an intern you are going to be taking orders and answering questions from a resident who is barely older than you. If you can't treat your elders (even the barely elder) with the respect that they deserve, you need an attitude adjustment. Medicial education, and the practice of medicine, is all about hierarchy. The M2 outranks you and, as an interviewer, has a voice on the admissions committee.

 

[Samoa]

As a third year, you may going to be taking orders and answering questions from an intern who is barely older than you are. As an intern you are going to be taking orders and answering questions from a resident who is barely older than you. If you can't treat your elders (even the barely elder) with the respect that they deserve, you need an attitude adjustment. Medicial education, and the practice of medicine, is all about hierarchy. The M2 outranks you and, as an interviewer, has a voice on the admissions committee.

Exactly. And I'd add that if you've taken a year or two off, or perhaps longer, between college and med school, it's likely that at some point you'll be taking orders from someone even younger than you.

Whether or not someone deserves respect based on their life experience, or has any ability to judge people accurately, or in fact to do anything at all with skill or competence is irrelevant. If they are senior to you in the heirarchy, they get to have a say in your fate. You don't have to like it, but you do have to be able to deal with it in a mature fashion, and work effectively within it. If this sounds harsh and discouraging, keep in mind that the people senior to you also know each other, and are aware to some extent whether the person evaluating you is competent to do so in a fair and appropriate manner, and whether the evaluation itself is fair and unbiased, or has been influenced by some factor unrelated to you.

In any event, evaluations by students tend to carry weight only on issues of whether the applicant is a good fit for the school, and perhaps to gain insight into how an applicant behaves around their peers.

 

[Its_MurDAH]

As a third year, you may going to be taking orders and answering questions from an intern who is barely older than you are. As an intern you are going to be taking orders and answering questions from a resident who is barely older than you. If you can't treat your elders (even the barely elder) with the respect that they deserve, you need an attitude adjustment. Medicial education, and the practice of medicine, is all about hierarchy. The M2 outranks you and, as an interviewer, has a voice on the admissions committee.

I know more about the hierarchy in medicine than you could imagine. I was just showing how annoyed I was at being asked questions about my motivations by a student interviewer who would go on to pass a judgement on me. I can understand that the student interviewer should have a say in what kind of people they want to populate their med school with but I don't think there is any reason for me to prove to them that I should be chosen over the others based on my answers to questions like "what makes YOU so damn special and why do you want to do medicine?".
I was always under the impression that student-run interviews should be casual and should revolve around extracurricular activities and about the campus etc. As for your comment about taking orders from residents and later from attendings - i have seen (and experienced) it all first hand.

But I am NOT a third year and I am NOT a resident. I was just expressing my feelings of irritations. As far as respect for elders go, you are very quick to assume that I need an attitude adjustment when you know nothing about me.

Regardless, I don't even wanna carry on this discussion anymore. Final line: I would much prefer someone older and more experienced as an interviewer over a student any day of the week and that is that.

 

[Its_MurDAH]

Edit:

 

[2DEG]

As a third year, you may going to be taking orders and answering questions from an intern who is barely older than you are. As an intern you are going to be taking orders and answering questions from a resident who is barely older than you. If you can't treat your elders (even the barely elder) with the respect that they deserve, you need an attitude adjustment. Medicial education, and the practice of medicine, is all about hierarchy. The M2 outranks you and, as an interviewer, has a voice on the admissions committee.

Wonderfully said LizzyM. I am a non-trad applicant this year. At my very first interview at one of our state schools, my second interview was with a 4th year medical student. He was at least 4 or 5 yrs younger to me. But I had lots of respect for him. He seemed dedicated, motivated and enthusiastic about life, medical school etc. My thought process was that ..yes he is few years younger to me. But he has judiciously used his time and he is now where he is because of his talents, his choices.

We were supposed to talk for 30 to 45 minutes but I think we ended up talking for an hour - mainly about a hemodialysis project that I am working on. But I really enjoyed talking to him and I thought I expressed myself in a much more open manner.

At another school (EVMS), one of my two panel members was a second year med student. This guy was also much younger than me but well prepared for the interview and mature. I really enjoyed my interview there as well.

I never felt negative things about the age difference. I went on becoming an engineer, raising a family and they chose to go to med school. In medical field, obviously they are more experienced than I am and thus I respect them.

I don't know if the students input has less weight..but even if my interviewer is a med student, he is still part of the admissions committee. I would think they would have the same weight as any other member of the adcom.

We will see in Spring I guess.

S.