Is this a perfect answer to a Interview Question?

[soonerschooner]

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I have a serious Medical School question, please reply?

I am going to apply to University of Oklahoma Medical School, when they will ask me for a interview and they ask this question, is this a good answer for me to answer to?

Why do you want to become a doctor?
I first decided to become a doctor when I was 5 years old, living in Bangladesh, I had broken my left hand, during that day in the hospital, while the doctor was fixing my left arm and hand, I decided to become a doctor when I grow older. I enjoy helping people and collaborating with others. Medicine allows me to help people during some of the most frightening experiences in there lives. That's very meaningful to me. It also allows me to collaborate with nurses, technicians, physical therapists, nutritionists, and other doctors. Medicine is truly a team effort, and I work well in this setting." I've always had a place in my heart for helping other people, even if they are complete strangers. I don't think there would be any profession that even compares to the feeling of accomplishment that a doctor feels. Going home each day knowing you changed someone's life and the lives of the family of that person, etc. would be an amazing feeling.

When they ask "Well, why not become a nurse or a physician's assistant?"
I'd respond, "Those are great professions, and they do a lot of good, but I enjoy being the final point of care. If a patient needs help, I will be able to help them if there is nobody else around. I also enjoy the academic rigor that medical school entails."

 

[DrBowtie]

No.

 

[Keewee]

No.

 

[NeuralNetwork]

Edit: saw above posts, plus re-read your post. Same answer, less words:

No.

 

[CeeEstee0]

There are no perfect answers, IMHO.

I don't think it is a bad answer, but it is not unique, nor a guarantee of acceptance.

Good Luck! I hope it goes well.

 

[RogueUnicorn]

Bolded makes you sound like a bigot - other professions have academic rigors, some have more. Answer must involve leadership, substantiated with experience. In fact, everything needs to be substantiated by experience.

bigot? really? are you really saying either PA or nursing is more academically rigorous than medicine?

 

[NeuralNetwork]

bigot? really? are you really saying either PA or nursing is more academically rigorous than medicine?

I am saying that, for example, if you are going for a doctorate in nursing, then you will be subjected to academic rigors. Whether it is substantially more or less is just an academic pissing contest and doesn't amount to much. Nowadays, the midlevel positions have substantially more education involved, so the argument that you want to be more "challenged" reflects an older viewpoint.

 

[music2doc]

Honestly, pretty mediocre. There's not much there. Why medicine? What brought you here? Where have you been? Your answer lacks substance IMO.

 

[RogueUnicorn]

I am saying that, for example, if you are going for a doctorate in nursing, then you will be subjected to academic rigors. Whether it is substantially more or less is just an academic pissing contest and doesn't amount to much. Nowadays, the midlevel positions have substantially more education involved, so the argument that you want to be more "challenged" reflects an older viewpoint.

actually, it amounts to a lot. you clearly don't know what's involved in a nursing 'doctorate' or midlevel education in general.

 

[EBTrailRunner]

IMHO, not the best response to that question. OP, I assume you'll be touching on why you want to pursue medicine in greater detail in your PS. If you're asked in person, I'd refrain from regurgitating a pre-written response. That's what I did initially when answering the same question and after my mock interview I was criticized for coming across as robotic and insincere. That's when my mentor told me, "Look, forget everything you memorized. Don't think about it and tell me why you want to become a doctor." My response came out much more naturally after that and by the time I interviewed I'd tweaked it to perfection. My advice to you is to have a firm understanding of why you want to become a doctor, which shouldn't be that difficult if it's truly what you want to do with your life, and let it come out naturally. None of that pre-written garbage.

 

[aSagacious]

Merging related threads.

 

[vb1]

You need to substantiate your claims by bringing up examples from your AMCAS activities/life experiences. I found this book helpful:

http://www.amazon.com/Medical-Schoo...=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1329091454&sr=1-3

 

[dd128]

It's a tad redundant in a few places, and a bit too much on the "fluff" side. I'm not sure if your question is in regard to a personal statement, in which case you may want to develop it further, or a verbal answer? Either way, you will need to work on your grammar and sentence structure greatly.

 

[LilKangaroo]

Content is great, but as mentioned you could probably work on your grammar and over all style.

Do you have any friends that are English/Creative Writing majors? I found that extremely helpful when writing my secondaries. Apparently I combined sentences too often. XD

Another option would be any type of writing center you may have on campus. You want to make the best impression possible so make sure your writing skills are up to snuff!

 

[JacobMcCandles]

The first sentence is too long and too complex. Many people will probably quit reading after that.

 

[aSagacious]

Merging related threads.

I am going to apply to University of Oklahoma Medical School, when they will ask me for a interview and they ask this question, is this a good answer for me to answer to?

Why do you want to become a doctor?
I first decided to become a doctor when I was 5 years old, living in Bangladesh, I had broken my left hand, during that day in the hospital, while the doctor was fixing my left arm and hand, I decided to become a doctor when I grow older. I enjoy helping people and collaborating with others. Medicine allows me to help people during some of the most frightening experiences in there lives. That's very meaningful to me. It also allows me to collaborate with nurses, technicians, physical therapists, nutritionists, and other doctors. Medicine is truly a team effort, and I work well in this setting." I've always had a place in my heart for helping other people, even if they are complete strangers. I don't think there would be any profession that even compares to the feeling of accomplishment that a doctor feels. Going home each day knowing you changed someone's life and the lives of the family of that person, etc. would be an amazing feeling. I want to study medicine because it's unlike any other field. It provides an opportunity to work with people, make people feel better or at least provide an explanation, it combines science with real interaction and outside/practical stressors, it provides unlimited educational/intellectual challenge/stimulus, and it's more than likely always going to be a "booming" field.

I want to be become a doctor because I want to lead, invent, make sense of things for people, be the direct line of communication frustrated or scared people are looking for, understand the ultimate "why" behind what I do, and I want to apply the technical know-how in a way that benefits people like ourselves before I knew it.

I want to be a doctor because I want to be dependable. Whether it's a scared patient, an unconscious or confused patient, an angry patient, or to teach a skill to a resident, student, volunteer, or patient. Because I know when I'm scared, I'm just looking for an explanation.

It's a tad redundant in a few places, and a bit too much on the "fluff" side. I'm not sure if your question is in regard to a personal statement, in which case you may want to develop it further, or a verbal answer? Either way, you will need to work on your grammar and sentence structure greatly.

Content is great, but as mentioned you could probably work on your grammar and over all style.

Do you have any friends that are English/Creative Writing majors? I found that extremely helpful when writing my secondaries. Apparently I combined sentences too often. XD

Another option would be any type of writing center you may have on campus. You want to make the best impression possible so make sure your writing skills are up to snuff!

The first sentence is too long and too complex. Many people will probably quit reading after that.

 

[music2doc]

OP, as a reader, I get what you're selling and I'm not convinced I'd want to buy it. (Does that make sense?)

Here's my line by line analysis:

I have a serious Medical School question, please reply?

I am going to apply to University of Oklahoma Medical School, when they will ask me for a interview and they ask this question, is this a good answer for me to answer to?

Why do you want to become a doctor?
I first decided to become a doctor when I was 5 years old, living in Bangladesh, I had broken my left hand, during that day in the hospital, while the doctor was fixing my left arm and hand, I decided to become a doctor when I grow older.

Why? Lots of people broke an arm. What makes yours so special? Why should we care? Further, why medicine? Many others spend far more time on such injuries...

I enjoy helping people and collaborating with others.

You do? prove it. And if you do, why medicine?

Medicine allows me to help people during some of the most frightening experiences in there lives.

Then why not be a cop? You'll be doing much more of that and have a much greater direct impact on people with far less education. If that's not your cup of tea, why not EMS? Your impact on people's lives is more direct and you get to be right there is those scary situations.

That's very meaningful to me. It also allows me to collaborate with nurses, technicians, physical therapists, nutritionists, and other doctors

Then why not become a security guard in the ED or a tech, etc.? Lots of people collaborate with all of these professionals...

. Medicine is truly a team effort, and I work well in this setting."

You do? How so? What makes you believe this about yourself? What experiences do you have?

I've always had a place in my heart for helping other people, even if they are complete strangers.

What does this even have to do with medicine? If you want to work with strangers, why medicine?

I don't think there would be any profession that even compares to the feeling of accomplishment that a doctor feels.

Really? You don't? ...Or are you just giving us a bunch of fluff here? What about a fireman after putting out a fire and saving someone's baby (not to sound cliche) or a researcher after finally solving a previously unsolved question of major global significance or an EMT-P who has just managed to bring a patient back from a witnessed arrest (that is rare)?

Going home each day knowing you changed someone's life and the lives of the family of that person, etc. would be an amazing feeling.

"Changing someone's lives and the lives of the family...." Have you worked in a clinical setting? Most of the time this simply isn't reality for a physician. It's unrealistic b.s., frankly, and would make someone think you've never actually talked with a real, live healthcare professional in an open, honest dialogue, much less with a physician.

When they ask "Well, why not become a nurse or a physician's assistant?"
I'd respond, "Those are great professions, and they do a lot of good, but I enjoy being the final point of care. If a patient needs help, I will be able to help them if there is nobody else around. I also enjoy the academic rigor that medical school entails."

What do you mean "the final point of care"? Do you know how often one physician provides definitive care in and of himself? Not often unless it's a fairly simple case. Complex cases almost always require a team-based approach with multiple physician specialists and auxiliary personnel And as for "being able to help someone if there is nobody else around," how does this differentiate an EMT-B from an MD, much less a PA from an MD? Even the EMT-B can "help when no one else is around" and an EMT-P is, in most cases, more capable of providing care on the field than almost any MD is. Sure, the MD can provide a higher level of care, but "when no one else is around" would generally refer to the field and that's the EMS professional's territory. Based on that statement, I would suggest considering EMS instead of medicine for you.

In fact, most of your "why medicine" answer here supports going the EMT-B --> EMT-P route much better than it does medicine.

 

[poohbear12345]

In my opinion, just my opinion, you should not say
( and it's more than likely always going to be a "booming" field.)

Also with the rest of your answer Show dont tell

I volunteered blah blah blah and learned that enjoyed helping people and the feeling it gave me

During the prerequisite coursework, Insert classes here, i enjoyed the intellectual stimulation, and thus i excelled (PLACE TO TALK ABOUT RESEARCH)

Also, you decided you wanted to be a doctor when you were 5 and NEVER rethought it? never had experiences that reaffirmed or made you doubt this choice? Talk about doubts or any validating experiences (CLINICAL EXPERIENCE) that happened later in life, if you don't have them, i suggest you get some.

Finally, something that makes you UNIQUE. You should probably lead with this. This granted is a formula but i think its a sturdy one.

Just my opinion.

 

[FattySlug]

This whole answer sounds fake. Not to say that you are fake but the answer sure does not sound very genuine. Use better examples to illustrate why medicine and how you think you would be a good doctor.