MMI Question: What do you do if its a dumb *** question

[PaladinX]

Hey guys,

So I've been preparing for MMIs, and I'm confident in my ability to answer these questions. However, when practicing, I have gotten completely ridiculous questions, where I have two choices on how to answer

1. Just go with it and answer it directly. Maybe mention that the scenario is very unlikely because XYZ, then answer the question that's directly asked
2. Go into depth on why the question is unlikely, and give an account of what I would do instead to say avoid that situation and handle it better, to begin with

Example: Someone doesn't do any of the work in a group project, skip meetings, don't contribute. They show up the last day and claim that they were an equal part, what would you do. *Me in my head, ok but I would never let it get that far and would have confronted them way beforehand*

Which option sounds better?

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[M&L]

answer directly. if you go into trying to prove that it is unlikely, it might seem like you are giving them attitude.

 

[Goro]

Hey guys,

So I've been preparing for MMIs, and I'm confident in my ability to answer these questions. However, when practicing, I have gotten completely ridiculous questions, where I have two choices on how to answer

1. Just go with it and answer it directly. Maybe mention that the scenario is very unlikely because XYZ, then answer the question that's directly asked
2. Go into depth on why the question is unlikely, and give an account of what I would do instead to say avoid that situation and handle it better, to begin with

Example: Someone doesn't do any of the work in a group project, skip meetings, don't contribute. They show up the last day and claim that they were an equal part, what would you do. *Me in my head, ok but I would never let it get that far and would have confronted them way beforehand*

Which option sounds better?

Don't assume that the situation is one that you had control over.

Just answer the question. More importantly, understand what is being asked. In this case, you weren't asked if you'd not allow the the situation to fester, you were asked " what are you going to do NOW?"

 

[Blueprint Med School]

Just showcase how you'd solve the problem. A lot of time they want to hear your process, how you would not overreact but acknowledge your emotions and respond in an appropriate and professional way. And how you would mitigate things from getting to that level in a future project. The scenario itself may be goofy but it's supposed to be a stand in for the sort of crappy things that happen to people all the time.

David D, MD - USMLE and MCAT Tutor
Med School Tutors

 

[longhaul3]

Option 2 and the example are poor choices. First of all, in an interview you should answer the question that is asked, not the question you feel like answering. Second, the example that you gave makes it sound like you think you have all the answers and will never have to find yourself in a difficult situation because you can prevent them all from happening. In reality in medicine you will find yourself in bad situations all the time, sometimes because of others' decisions and sometimes because of your own decisions.

 

[TelemarketingEnigma]

Example: Someone doesn't do any of the work in a group project, skip meetings, don't contribute. They show up the last day and claim that they were an equal part, what would you do. *Me in my head, ok but I would never let it get that far and would have confronted them way beforehand*

Which option sounds better?

Funny story - this exact thing has happened to me, so it's not that impossible. We had a group project for which we signed up for groups via a spreadsheet at the start of the course. we had someone add themselves to an open spot in our group at the extreme last minute, weeks after signups opened. It was after we had already started working as a group, so we didn't re-check the sheet to realize they had signed up. They never contacted us until 9pm the night before the assignment was due to ask if we'd started work yet - at which point we had already submitted the assignment. I think it ended up working out for them because another group had procrastinated and still had room for them to contribute, but it was very awkward.

If you get a question like this, I think it's fair to say "Well ideally I would have done something earlier, but if it got to this point, I would...."