Using books to prepare for Med School Interviews

[Nomemal]

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As someone who is most afraid of the Interview, rather than any other aspect of the application of a pre-med, I would like some feedback on my prep for interviews.

1: Read books on MMI and Regular med school interviews
2:create a word document of common questions and general outlines of what I want to say for each answer (worried that this could be a never-ending process).
3: Practice articulating my answers to the common questions
4: Do as many mock interviews as I can and get feedback (how many mock interviews should I leave room to schedule before the actual interview date? Should I only do mock interviews through my school or find other resources, and if so which resources?)

 

[LizzyM]

There are examples of questions here:
Interview Feedback List | Student Doctor Network

Don't memorize answers. That comes off as rehearsed and insincere.

I'd suggest making some flashcards with questions and practice constructing a spontaneous response to the question. Or just think about the substance of the answer without putting together how you'd phrase it. Eg, what are three of the greatest medical discoveries of the past 100 years? You might think of 5 or 6 so that in the heat of the moment, at least 3 come to you and you can say a few words about why each was important. Who would you eat dinner with if you could eat dinner with any person in history? Think about that question on a 10 minute walk. On your next walk, think about the best book you've read in the past year. etc.

If your school offers mock interviews, do at least one. If it can be videotaped and you can review the tape with the interviewer or someone else, all the better. I also suggest trying to set up an interview with an older adult (someone between 55 and 75) who works as a professoinal, but not necessarily as a physician. It should be someone who does not know you well and who is willing to sit down in a professional setting (just a table and two chairs in a private space would simulate an interivew setting) and talk to you about your interest in medicine, your experiences, your aspirations, your hobbiew and outside interests. It is also good to practice explaining your research in a manner that is understandable to a non-scientist as that is sometimes used as a measure of your ability to communicate medical information in a way that would be understandable to patients.

tl;dr Build up your interior life so that you've thought about the things you are likely to be asked about but don't write down answers or try to memorize responses.

 

[makemeadoctordoctordoctor]

Do some non-MMI research too -- a lot of questions are about ethics, health policy, or medical history, so its worth reading some well known books and articles on the topics so you have something to reference/sound like you genuinely care about/are interested in the issues.

 

[LizzyM]

This might be a useful resource for the ethics and health polciy questions.
U of W School of Medicine Bioethic Topics