question ideas

[jsouster]

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Hey,
Just wanted some input from prospective students. I'm a med student and I'm on the admissions committee this year. I was just wondering if anyone had some ideas for good questions to ask applicants in their interview. Any input would be appreciated - such as what questions you really hated and those you thought were useful.
Thanx!

 

[Doctora Foxy]

I like:

Tell me about your family
Tell me about yourself
Why do you want to come to this school?
Why do you want to be a doctor? What led you to pursue medicine?
What contact with patients have you had?
What is the biggest problem with health care in this country? What do you see for the future of health care?

I also liked questions specific to my application, because it shows the interviewer read through it and gave me a lot of consideration

I don't like:
What hardships have you overcome in life? (it sucks if you have been lucky and have no good answer to this!)
Where else have you interviewed? Been accepted yet? (too nosy!)
Where have you travelled? (again, if one hasn't travelled much, hard to answer)
What have you done every summer since the start of high school? (I couldn't remember, and who said we have to do something constructive after graduating? <img border="0" alt="[Laughy]" title="" src="graemlins/laughy.gif" /> )

Ethics and health care questions are fair game, because they are relevant to the field.

And please be nice to those poor nervous premed students! 😀

 

[simpleton]

good reply foxy, I generally agree w/ your like/dislike questions.

I was never a fan of the "what are your three strengths and weaknesses questions" because more than likely your answer is going to be a little fabricated. I mean no one is honestly going to say 3 negative things about themselves, i.e. yeah I procrastinate or I drive like a bat out of hell and cut people off on the road.

I pretty much enjoyed the interview process and getting ethical questions with no wrong or right answers. My only pet peeve were interviewers who belittled my undergrad school, please don't do that!

-Jsouster, Thanks for coming to SDN for suggestions 🙂

 

[PelicanMan]

I suggest that you the persons application.

This will give you ideas as of what to ask. Something will probably strike you interesting so you can ask about that.

Make sure that you assertain whether this person is BS or not.

I would throw in a weird question just to see what happens. Like how come you are wearing a ring, or why is your hair brown.

I got a question that I don't think was too fair.

Tell me a typical day of a doctor, how the hell am I supposed to know, I'm not a doctor yet.

 

[Doctora Foxy]

•••quote:••• Tell me a typical day of a doctor, how the hell am I supposed to know, I'm not a doctor yet. ••••Actually, I have mixed feelings on this one. It's a great way to see that we have worked with doctors and know what we are getting ourselves into. On the other hand, the answer is quite boring!

Questions that cause discussions are really good and make for an interesting interview.

 

[Dr. L]

I hate the "what would your day be like in 10 years" question. If you must ask strengths/weaknesses, I like it phrased when its asked what qualities one looks for in a friend. It is essentially asking what three adjectives one would use to describe themselves, because we look for people like ourselves to be friends with.

 

[Legend]

Why U of Calgary?

How do you forsee the future of Alberta's health care? How would you fix it?

If you get rejected by all the med schools you have applied to, what are you going to do?

What's the capital city of British Columbia? :wink:

 

[megkudos]

Hmmm...
I agree mostly so far and would like to add some more ones I like...

What about you would make you a good physician?
or
What are some qualitites that a good physician has?
and
What was your favorite experience/activity in undergrad?
and
Have you thought about what fields might interst you and why? (this ones shows familiarity with the profession as well as motivation for becomg a physician, even if like many people they have no idea)

That's cool that you get to interview people. Good luck!

 

[WaitingImpatiently]

•••quote:•••Originally posted by Doctora Foxy:
•I like:

Tell me about your family
Tell me about yourself
Why do you want to come to this school?
Why do you want to be a doctor? What led you to pursue medicine?
What contact with patients have you had?
What is the biggest problem with health care in this country? What do you see for the future of health care?

I also liked questions specific to my application, because it shows the interviewer read through it and gave me a lot of consideration

I don't like:
What hardships have you overcome in life? (it sucks if you have been lucky and have no good answer to this!)
Where else have you interviewed? Been accepted yet? (too nosy!)
Where have you travelled? (again, if one hasn't travelled much, hard to answer)
What have you done every summer since the start of high school? (I couldn't remember, and who said we have to do something constructive after graduating? <img border="0" alt="[Laughy]" title="" src="graemlins/laughy.gif" /> )

Ethics and health care questions are fair game, because they are relevant to the field.

And please be nice to those poor nervous premed students! 😀 •••••I never understood why so many interviewers asked about my family. Seriously, why does it matter what my parents or sisters do, unless, of course, it's in the medical field.

"Tell me about yourself"

I also hate this question... I mean, where do I start?

In general, I like the questions that ask why YOU will be a good doctor. I also like questions about particular experiences the applicant has had, specifically how those experiences helped him/her grow as a person and as a pre-med student.

 

[pre-hawkdoc]

•••quote:•••Originally posted by Doctora Foxy:
•
Ethics and health care questions are fair game, because they are relevant to the field.
•••••I disagree (something I rarely do with Foxy)--that's what I expect THEM to teach ME.

With that in mind, one of my most interesting questions was "You're paying tuition, so you're essentially our employer. Besides a medical education, what do you expect from us?" I think this "tests" whether you have thought about the numerous factors in selecting a school (should you be lucky enough to have the choice).

 

[Doctora Foxy]

•••quote:•••Originally posted by pre-hawkdoc:
• •••quote:•••Originally posted by Doctora Foxy:
•
Ethics and health care questions are fair game, because they are relevant to the field.
•••••I disagree (something I rarely do with Foxy)--that's what I expect THEM to teach ME.
•••••I agree, and I hate those types of questions. However, I still think we are expected to have thought about current issues in health care, as well as current ethical issues. It all goes with us knowing what we're getting into and that we've thought about the struggles in the field. So although it sucks, I still think it's fair game.

 

[Dr. Nick Riviera]

This was from my Pritzker interview-
"Tell me about a time in the past 4 years when you were embarrassed to be yourself"
Really tough, but if you can answer it well it sure says alot.

 

[daisygirl]

I'm with everyone else on the "Tell me about yourself". That question is so stupid. The AMCAS application and personal statement do plenty to tell someone about you. I am all for the interviewer getting to know me on a deeper level, but I don't think that such a vague open-ended question really tells them anything else about me. Plus I think the question, IMHO, indicates that the interviewer was really lazy (if they did not read your application thoroughly and they had the opportunity to do so), I mean why think about something to ask me specifics on when they can let you do their job for them 😡 😡 . And, yes I guess you can say I am bitter and biased b/c I was asked that question during my worst interview!

 

[trout]

Ok questions I didn't like:
-I am a snowboarder and I was asked if I thought it was right that the G-B went to americans in the half pipe competition in the olympics(?#@$ what the f*)? I told her since I am not a judge and only got to the see the camera angles that I am sure were chosen to make them look impressive, I couldn't judge that...btw we spent 25 minutes talking about this...what a waste of time! (this was AE)
-Where we rank on your list (are we your first choice)-of course I am not going to tell the whole truth "no actual you are my last choice that is why I am spending $400 to come interview here" (almost every school)
-Do I plan on having a family during medical school? I know I am older but give me a break (this one was GW)
-Are my parent's going to pay for medical school?..humm let me see they haven't paid for anyting in the last 7 years, I am sure the will jump in and start paying now???? (this was GW)
-why I have so many publications??? I can't even comment on that one...
-Being older if I think I will fit into medical school (by the same person at GW)
Questions I liked:
-I liked questions that made me think without being rediculous...for example, I am the last of 5 kids, I was asked how that influenced how I grew up and what lasting effects does it have on my personality?
-what are the last 5 books I read and how my reading style if it has changed has changed since undergrad
-what other than the direct science did I learn in my phd? (hadn't really thought of this before and definitely put me on the spot)

-I am probably not the norm but I definitely liked aggressive interviewers who made me think...I had one interview that lasted 7.5 minutes and asked tell me about yourself and other crap...by the end I prefered old men and aggressive men interviewers totally wierd I guess?
Sorry I know you started this thread...I hated student interviewers because they had list of question already made and sometimes were more nervous than me???? (Although they answered my questions much more thoroughly)