umm...should we be preparing for interviews?

[solitude]

So it's not like any of us have spare time to actually do this, but is it advisable to do any preparation for interviews? Assuming that we are capable of carrying a conversation (and have the proper posture, tone, etc.), is there anything else we can do other than be thinking about "Why MD/PhD" and "tell me about your research"?

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[JustAdocInBox]

Good question. I am planning on scheduling a meeting with my premed adviser go through a mock interview. There is also an pre-alo thread with possible interview questions. It might be a good idea to look through that.

 

[SpeakLittleB]

think about your strengths and how to best present them. and how to shed the best light on any weaknesses. you will probably also encounter some md-only interviews, so think about what you will say to them too. look over your personal essay and think about what questions they might raise.. like if you mention some experience there, expect to talk about it.. i felt like some interviewers just wanted to chat a bit..

if you're not already, it's nice to be up on current events in science because if luck has it that you and your interviewer have absolutely nothing in common, you don't want to forcefully bore each other for an hour with your work.

 

[Sinfekl]

So it's not like any of us have spare time to actually do this, but is it advisable to do any preparation for interviews? Assuming that we are capable of carrying a conversation (and have the proper posture, tone, etc.), is there anything else we can do other than be thinking about "Why MD/PhD" and "tell me about your research"?

Be very familiar with your research. My experience wasn't necessarily that anyone went after me, but it was helpful to review details of everything that I did (or rather, said I did in the application ). Sometime, faculty will not get the general gist of your research because they're reading it in brief and will pick out some mundane detail you thought was relatively unimportant, so its critical to be able to defend/describe in further detail everything you said you did.

IMHO, the MD interviews took much less prep than the PhD ones. Come with a prepared answer for the strengths/weakness question, the ethical dilemma question, and the why medicine question. Although honestly, I didn't really get too many of those. You'll be surprised how much of your interview is just chatting.

Oh and before I forget, its absolutely critical that you prepare a decent amount of questions about the program that you can ask faculty. If you only have one or two that they answer over the course of the interview, and they ask "so, do you have any questions?" at the end and you say no, thats bad. Everyone asks you for questions at the end, IMHO the interview should go on another 5-10 minutes after that. Good generic ones include asking about the quality of clinical training, how they and their colleagues combine their clinic and research (if they do), if they've had any MD-PhD's in their labs and how they've done, what sorts of fields their graduates go into, if they think an MD-PhD is particularly relevant in their field, etc.

 

[pennquaker08]

I went on my first interview last week. Definitely know your research inside and out...and not just your research, but the history of research in your laboratory leading up to what you have done. That sounds excessive, but it came up in different ways in each of my four faculty interviews. Also, my interviewers had clearly read my research dossier in detail because they were able to think of very detailed questions that struck at the hypotheses underpinning my research (and speaking to others in my group, their interviewers posed similar challenges to them). So, I don't know how your interviewers will be, but I must say that based on my experience thus far it is essential to be able to speak fluidly and expertly about any given detail of your or your colleagues' research. Believe me, nothing is off limits...they're trying to gauge the depth of your knowledge and your ability to solve problems you may not have anticipated on the fly.

 

[solitude]

great, thanks for the replies! I think I'll go back over my lab notebooks, re-read some papers, and carefully review my essays beforehand.

 

[vector07]

Oh and before I forget, its absolutely critical that you prepare a decent amount of questions about the program that you can ask faculty. If you only have one or two that they answer over the course of the interview, and they ask "so, do you have any questions?" at the end and you say no, thats bad. Everyone asks you for questions at the end, IMHO the interview should go on another 5-10 minutes after that. Good generic ones include asking about the quality of clinical training, how they and their colleagues combine their clinic and research (if they do), if they've had any MD-PhD's in their labs and how they've done, what sorts of fields their graduates go into, if they think an MD-PhD is particularly relevant in their field, etc.

Here's another good set of questions. Ask about integration of the MD/PhD program. Do MD courses count for PhD requirements, or similarly, can you substitute a PhD requirement course for an MD course? Are there opportunities to learn or keep up with clinical skills during the PhD? Is there a refresher course before being thrown into the wards after the PhD? Remember who your audience is; these questions would be appropriate for an MSTP office interviewer (mstp admissions committee, mstp directors, etc), but not for the "let me tell you about my lab" interviews with faculty in your area of interest.

The hardest questions I thought were the "Tell me about a weakness", and the ethical / health care questions. The former you need to think about carefully. The latter has (imo) a formulaic response provided that you know the issue. The best answer is the political answer. Don't choose an extreme side.. choose a moderate position, defend it, and admit the issue is challenging because the opposite position is equally valid/persuasive/appropriate for reasons X, Y and Z.

 

[Jorje286]

Can you guys give exampls of possible ethical questions?

 

[gstrub]

Here is another good tip. Find out (if possible) who will be interviewing you, and go to their webpage and learn about their research. Also, if you are interested in a particular field, find some labs at that university who are doing it and read up on them...be able to refer to them by name (i.e. "much like the work Dr. Fussybritches is doing...")

 

[j-weezy]

Dr. Fussybritches

quoted for hilarity

 

[xanthines]

This is good advice. It's also good to know your project and field inside and out, because the interview may not know anything about your work/field but is interested. This means they may come up with questions you find difficult when they're not actively trying to trip you up. You come off as mature if you can satisfy their curiosity. They're scientists, some of them are bound to be curious.

-X

Be very familiar with your research. My experience wasn't necessarily that anyone went after me, but it was helpful to review details of everything that I did (or rather, said I did in the application ). Sometime, faculty will not get the general gist of your research because they're reading it in brief and will pick out some mundane detail you thought was relatively unimportant, so its critical to be able to defend/describe in further detail everything you said you did.

IMHO, the MD interviews took much less prep than the PhD ones. Come with a prepared answer for the strengths/weakness question, the ethical dilemma question, and the why medicine question. Although honestly, I didn't really get too many of those. You'll be surprised how much of your interview is just chatting.

Oh and before I forget, its absolutely critical that you prepare a decent amount of questions about the program that you can ask faculty. If you only have one or two that they answer over the course of the interview, and they ask "so, do you have any questions?" at the end and you say no, thats bad. Everyone asks you for questions at the end, IMHO the interview should go on another 5-10 minutes after that. Good generic ones include asking about the quality of clinical training, how they and their colleagues combine their clinic and research (if they do), if they've had any MD-PhD's in their labs and how they've done, what sorts of fields their graduates go into, if they think an MD-PhD is particularly relevant in their field, etc.

 

[QofQuimica]

Can you guys give exampls of possible ethical questions?

Those are sometimes asked in MD interviews, and they're pretty stupid IMHO. One I got asked was what I would do if my best friend's (underage) teenage daughter came to see me wanting an abortion. The key things to remember here are that 1) you should *never* advocate doing anything that would break the law, and 2) you should be willing to explain calmly and rationally why you answered the way you did. In my case, I said that I would encourage this minor child to tell her parent (my friend) about being pregnant, and offer to accompany her to talk to her parent about the pregnancy. The interviewer then asked me what would happen if she was afraid of her parent (my friend) being abusive to her if the parent found out she was pregnant. I replied that I would not choose to be friends with someone whom I knew was violent and abused his or her child, so I didn't forsee that being a problem. End of the line of questioning, and I got into that school.

OP, I definitely think that you should prepare for interviews. Reading over your essays is a good idea, and so is reading over the interview feedback for each school here on SDN. There are some feedbacks that are specifically for MD/PhD interviews.

to everyone who is interviewing.

 

[OncDoc19]

So if we have prepared a list of questions is it ok to bring it with us and consult said list when asked if we have any questions? My first interview is next week and I am afraid I will be so nervous I forget to ask something important.

 

[solitude]

So if we have prepared a list of questions is it ok to bring it with us and consult said list when asked if we have any questions? My first interview is next week and I am afraid I will be so nervous I forget to ask something important.

I think that would be pretty awkward. Just glance over it right before you go in to meet the prof. Once you set the ball rolling he/she will just keep talking and talking until the cows come home. At my first two interviews, when I didn't have a very insightful question, I just asked how they liked the city, how long they had been at the school, etc. People love to hear themselves talk.

 

[fantasty]

Here is another good tip. Find out (if possible) who will be interviewing you, and go to their webpage and learn about their research. Also, if you are interested in a particular field, find some labs at that university who are doing it and read up on them...be able to refer to them by name (i.e. "much like the work Dr. Fussybritches is doing...")

Agreed. This is very good advice. Plus, don't go in too cocky or anything, but keep in mind that you are interviewing the program as well. If you get an interview, you probaby meet the program's expectations (on paper). So, an important part of the interview process is seeing how well you fit in with the program. So, keep in mind that people you might interview with are people that you might want to rotate with. Therefore, knowing some basics of what their lab is working on is very helpful.

Also, even if the program doesn't ask you specifically, it's in your best interests to check out who is there (i.e., Dr. Fussybritches) and see if you can speak with them while you are there.

 

[Inuranic]

Something I've found helpful -

My girlfriend lives 13-15 minutes away from me (depending on how many State Troopers are out). On the (nearly) nightly drives to visit her, I answer aloud to myself "Why medicine", "Why MD-PhD", "Why not MD-only", etc.

I felt really weird doing it at first, but after my first interview, I felt it really paid off. I've found that as hard as it is to write succinctly and eloquently about these questions, its far harder to answer them in a cohesive and non-rambling manner.

As for "Tell me about your research", I don't think, for most of us, that's feasible to practice. At least for me, that 15 minute window is not enough for me to cover everything over and over and over until I feel it's polished. I know what I'm doing/what I've done, and can semi-improvise when the time is nigh.

 

[Neuronix]

So it's not like any of us have spare time to actually do this, but is it advisable to do any preparation for interviews?

To be perfectly honest, I just winged it. I found all the interview prep advice I got on SDN to be almost useless. Prepping for my interviews by reading up about who I'd be talking to was a waste of time for me because I never got a word in edgewise on most research interviews and I felt like what little I knew almost ended up insulting them. Everyone else I knew and I who was trying to read up on their interviewers before the interview stopped doing it within 2 interviews when we realized it wasn't helping at all. If you haven't gone on any MD/PhD interviews yet, you will realize there are two types of interviews:

1) The interviews that count: These are typically with program directors or adcoms and many times you'll know which ones they are. Sometimes they come out of left field but you can usually spot them with a little experience before you even walk in the room. Typically this is one or two interviews per program. You get the standard questions and often times detailed research questions in an attempt to evaluate you.

2) The interviews that don't really count: These are the interviews you have some say in picking and their purpose is to try to sell you on the school more than it is to evaluate you. Sure, they can fill out a form or whatever and say something about you so you don't want to fall asleep on their long rants (hard at 9AM sometimes), but typically the interview is you say something about yourself and then the faculty member won't let you speak for next half hour to an hour because they go off on a tangent discussing every detail of whatever they find important. This will comprise >75% of your interviews. There is not really much of a chance to try to impress most of these guys and it probably won't help anyway.

There are two lessons I learned along the way:

1) If they ask you if you have questions, ask them something soft. Don't ask them anything too specific, too hard, or potentially incriminating. Like, what is your average time to graduation was a question that almost nobody knew and the people who did know seemed to get uncomfortable when I asked. Many other programs had things that were program specific that I found I didn't like. If it seems like the school has some issue in something, don't ask the faculty about it. You can try the students, but you have to try to gauge whether they're evaluating you as well and if the student you're talking to is a cheerleader.

2) Pick a common MD/PhD specialty if asked. If you're interested in surgery, keep it to yourself and lie and say medicine or something. You don't want your interview to go into why surgery is bad for MD/PhDs for the next 15 minutes because you mentioned it as a possible specialty you might want to do (this happened to me several times).

OncDoc, just pick some random soft generic question you can ask anyone. Sinfekl listed some good ones.

 

[OncDoc19]

2) Pick a common MD/PhD specialty if asked. If you're interested in surgery, keep it to yourself and lie and say medicine or something. You don't want your interview to go into why surgery is bad for MD/PhDs for the next 15 minutes because you mentioned it as a possible specialty you might want to do (this happened to me several times).

OncDoc, just pick some random soft generic question you can ask anyone. Sinfekl listed some good ones.

So is Radiation Oncology ok to say?

 

[Neuronix]

So is Radiation Oncology ok to say?

Yeah I would say either medicine or peds to oncology fellowship or Rad Onc, you're just not sure. In reality a lot changes in 8 years and it's good not to sound too focused on an uncommon specialty in interviews unless you have a LOT of reasons to say so.

Rad Onc isn't the kind of specialty that will provoke the same kind of reaction that saying surgery, radiology, dermatology, or certain other uncommon specialties will It's really quite silly IMO, but I'm just the messenger.

 

[OncDoc19]

Yeah I would say either medicine or peds to oncology fellowship or Rad Onc, you're just not sure. In reality a lot changes in 8 years and it's good not to sound too focused on an uncommon specialty in interviews unless you have a LOT of reasons to say so.

Rad Onc isn't the kind of specialty that will provoke the same kind of reaction that saying surgery, radiology, dermatology, or certain other uncommon specialties will It's really quite silly IMO, but I'm just the messenger.

Actually I do have significant background in Rad Onc. I am one course shy of completing the PhD coursework in Radiation Biology. I have also done research in rad bio and shadowing a Rad Onc. But I see what you mean. Thanks Neuronix! (Now if only you could get your school to invite me for an interview )

 

[Ziggy08]

To be perfectly honest, I just winged it. I found all the interview prep advice I got on SDN to be almost useless. Prepping for my interviews by reading up about who I'd be talking to was a waste of time for me because I never got a word in edgewise on most research interviews and I felt like what little I knew almost ended up insulting them. Everyone else I knew and I who was trying to read up on their interviewers before the interview stopped doing it within 2 interviews when we realized it wasn't helping at all. If you haven't gone on any MD/PhD interviews yet, you will realize there are two types of interviews:

1) The interviews that count: These are typically with program directors or adcoms and many times you'll know which ones they are. Sometimes they come out of left field but you can usually spot them with a little experience before you even walk in the room. Typically this is one or two interviews per program. You get the standard questions and often times detailed research questions in an attempt to evaluate you.

2) The interviews that don't really count: These are the interviews you have some say in picking and their purpose is to try to sell you on the school more than it is to evaluate you. Sure, they can fill out a form or whatever and say something about you so you don't want to fall asleep on their long rants (hard at 9AM sometimes), but typically the interview is you say something about yourself and then the faculty member won't let you speak for next half hour to an hour because they go off on a tangent discussing every detail of whatever they find important. This will comprise >75% of your interviews. There is not really much of a chance to try to impress most of these guys and it probably won't help anyway.

Completely agree. Program directors=more intensive research questions and 'goals in life' questions. Most everyone else=pointing at buildings through their windows, telling you why you should pick their school, etc.

Surprisingly to me, I've never been grilled about my research. When the interviewer asks 'Tell me about your research,' I just say a short 2-3 minuteish, vague summary. Then, I'm asked to clarify some points, but I've never been grilled. Maybe that'll change when I get some interviewers in my sub-field...

Also, I don't really read up on my interviewers, but I tend to look over any posters they have outside their doors. it's good to pass some minutes before your interview, and it's interesting too.