Weirdest Question Asked During an Interview

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keels99

keels99

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I figured I would just start a fun thread consisting of the weirdest questions you were asked at a med school interview.

Personally, mine was: If you could meet any three people (dead or otherwise) who would you choose and why?
 
"Should all types of doctors, regardless of specialty, be paid the same?"

"Uhh.... no?"

accepted. Uhh... what?
 
"What is one reason you may not want to go into medicine"

uhhhh....I am applying to medical schools because I want to go there...
 
This is actually a pretty common question, and for good reason.


keels99 said:
I figured I would just start a fun thread consisting of the weirdest questions you were asked at a med school interview.

Personally, mine was: If you could meet any three people (dead or otherwise) who would you choose and why?
Click to expand...

You bombed this question. The question is asked to see if you have considered that there are downsides to a career in Medicine (which there are).
"What is one reason you may not want to go into medicine"
uhhhh....I am applying to medical schools because I want to go there...
 
Goro said:
This is actually a pretty common question, and for good reason.




You bombed this question. The question is asked to see if you have considered that there are downsides to a career in Medicine (which there are).
"What is one reason you may not want to go into medicine"
uhhhh....I am applying to medical schools because I want to go there...
Click to expand...

I did not answer it that way. That was what my thoughts were when it was asked. I think I had a good response to it during the interview
 
keels99 said:
I figured I would just start a fun thread consisting of the weirdest questions you were asked at a med school interview.

Personally, mine was: If you could meet any three people (dead or otherwise) who would you choose and why?
Click to expand...
Moses
Meriwether Lewis
William Clark

Those are some leaders to aspire to be like... You ever read undaunted courage?
 
Would you rather feel no pain, ride a train, or dance in the rain?

After thinking for a moment, I replied that I could ride a train any time, so that was out. Feeling no pain can lead to infection, so that was out. Knowing how to dance in the rain would be cool since I don't have any moves.
 
Do you think your children will be a distraction for you?

ANSWER: Of course they will...do you have children?!? lol

This one stumped me a bit...only because I probably wasn't prepared for it as well as I should have:

What do you foresee as the biggest challenge for healthcare (or enter specialty) over the next 10 years? Unless you really are interested in healthcare politics...this is one that requires some premeditated thought.
 
Goro said:
This is actually a pretty common question, and for good reason.




You bombed this question. The question is asked to see if you have considered that there are downsides to a career in Medicine (which there are).
"What is one reason you may not want to go into medicine"
uhhhh....I am applying to medical schools because I want to go there...
Click to expand...

What reason could this be? My first pick is Oscar Wilde. Best observation of humans I've ever had the privileged of witnessing.
 
"Can you say the word 'inconceivable' in a Stewie Griffin voice?"
 
j4pac said:
Do you think your children will be a distraction for you?

ANSWER: Of course they will...do you have children?!? lol

This one stumped me a bit...only because I probably wasn't prepared for it as well as I should have:

What do you foresee as the biggest challenge for healthcare (or enter specialty) over the next 10 years? Unless you really are interested in healthcare politics...this is one that requires some premeditated thought.
Click to expand...

I got the second question during mine. I talked about the issues and comorbidities involving the increasing rate of obesity
 
After asking about potential opportunities to continue work towards my MPH, one interviewer told me there would be no way that I could work on a masters while in med school. Then, that no masters programs would allow me to work part time on their degree, and that there would be no time to pursue this at all. Then, she asked the other interviewer what an MPH was...
 
"define sympathy AND empathy."

so glad I had a solid understanding of the difference between the two, but I was a little surprised at first when I heard the question!
 
DoctorKrieger said:
Is that even legal to ask in an interview, unless you brought it up yourself?
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It can be.

Sexual orientation is not covered by the law that prohibits discrimination based on age, sex, race, and national origin. Some states or localities have statutes that are protective, but it is spotty.

Gender identity is even less protected. In most of the US, it is perfectly legal to fire someone from their job or deny them housing because they are transgender. It has happened to people that I know and love, though I personally have been very fortunate.

Back on topic... I don't even remember what question I was asked in our group interview/round table discussion. But the question that most stood out to me of the ones that I heard was about "If we gave you 2 million dollars once you completed your residency training, what would you do with it?" I'm still floored that the young man who was asked answered "Well, I don't want to use money that I haven't earned, so I would give it to charity. But maybe the charity might be corrupt and misuse it, so I would spread it among several charities." I was embarrassed for him, for wasting that golden opportunity to talk about his values and about positive changes he would like to make in the world. Instead, he basically said that he didn't feel comfortable with responsibility for making decisions. It was basically the worst answer possible for someone aspiring to be a physician.
 
keels99 said:
Whaaat??? lol Why is that even relevant to becoming a physician?
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I mentioned my sexuality in a diversity essay and the interviewer was essentially curious about how receptive my hometown was to it.

I ended up being accepted so I don't think he had bad intentions asking. It just shocked me for a second that it was something he wanted to discuss.
 
CharmanderMD said:
I mentioned my sexuality in a diversity essay and the interviewer was essentially curious about how receptive my hometown was to it.

I ended up being accepted so I don't think he had bad intentions asking. It just shocked me for a second that it was something he wanted to discuss.
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i think most ADCOMS try to bring up things that are important to us and most people would consider any topics in essays to be important. especially PS, but also like you said diversity themes.

it would have caught me off guard had I been in that situation though too. sounds like you handled it well though. also congrats on being accepted
 
I got one: "What's your role in the family?"

My parents separated a couple of weeks ago, so I'm still trying to figure out the works of this new family unit. I found the question insensitive, especially since that bitch of an interviewer rolled her eyes when I told her I can't quite say at the moment - still navigating the maze.
 
kthxbai said:
I got one: "What's your role in the family?"

My parents separated a couple of weeks ago, so I'm still trying to figure out the works of this new family unit. I found the question insensitive, especially since that bitch of an interviewer rolled her eyes when I told her I can't quite say at the moment - still navigating the maze.
Click to expand...

did they know your parents had just separated?
 
The toughest question I got was from a doctor who asked me, you have a patient come into the ER and tells you please leave me alone and let me die in peace. He asked me what I would do in such a situation.
 
Seth Joo said:
The toughest question I got was from a doctor who asked me, you have a patient come into the ER and tells you please leave me alone and let me die in peace. He asked me what I would do in such a situation.
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This kind of stuff is really tough because as people who have had no formal medical ethics training, how are we expected to answer some of these questions?

Personally my gut would say "run a psych eval and contact some family. If the eval is clear and the family says those are his wishes then I would try to move him to hospice (if he is close to death) or try and get arrangements for him to die in peace back at his own home."

But of course, that is most likely wrong. I know I have personal bias that affected some of my ethical questions in interviews. The "correct" answer would probably be to try exhaustive measures or some crap like that. When in the end if people want to die and they are sane, just let em go?
 
Awesome Sauceome said:
This kind of stuff is really tough because as people who have had no formal medical ethics training, how are we expected to answer some of these questions?

Personally my gut would say "run a psych eval and contact some family. If the eval is clear and the family says those are his wishes then I would try to move him to hospice (if he is close to death) or try and get arrangements for him to die in peace back at his own home."

But of course, that is most likely wrong. I know I have personal bias that affected some of my ethical questions in interviews. The "correct" answer would probably be to try exhaustive measures or some crap like that. When in the end if people want to die and they are sane, just let em go?
Click to expand...

If patient refuses care and you still provide it, that is considered assault.
 
Seth Joo said:
If patient refuses care and you still provide it, that is considered assault.
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Maybe not necessarily this situation, but definitely plenty of others I ran in to that were insanely challenging... I am a normal human being who has experience working in a clinic so I understand how to help and interact with people. But even then with that experience, there are some constraints that interviewers have put us under that are just ridiculous. There is a difference between challenging and ridiculous. Not trying to harp too hard on the interview process, I guess just venting a little bit and wished that most interviews were more conversational and didnt give pimp questions with random ethical situations that even some physicians would struggle with.
 
Awesome Sauceome said:
Maybe not necessarily this situation, but definitely plenty of others I ran in to that were insanely challenging... I am a normal human being who has experience working in a clinic so I understand how to help and interact with people. But even then with that experience, there are some constraints that interviewers have put us under that are just ridiculous. There is a difference between challenging and ridiculous. Not trying to harp too hard on the interview process, I guess just venting a little bit and wished that most interviews were more conversational and didnt give pimp questions with random ethical situations that even some physicians would struggle with.
Click to expand...

I was wondering why someone who wanted to die quietly would want to be in a hospital.

One of my classmates had an interview question where he was an Army doctor stationed in Afghanistan and two people come in with injuries, one is an American soldier and the other is a "bad guy", the professor asked him who he would treat first. I thought the wording was a little strange. He said he would treat the person that had the more serious injury.
 
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Pretty interesting stuff heh... I guess not to mess up this thread but would you say that ethics courses in med school actually help any with some of this stuff? Are you able to get into some of the nitty gritty with legality of some of these issues and whatnot?
 
ethics questions can be tricky. i think as long as you provide a somewhat well-formulated response which isn't completely irrational, then they will be okay with it. typically they are asking to see how you handle ethical situations and stress, not to get your precise view on a topic. but you definitely can't just give a wishy washy answer either.

i would say that my theology courses helped me develop an answer, but in some cases has actually made other decisions even harder.
 
baxt1412 said:
ethics questions can be tricky. i think as long as you provide a somewhat well-formulated response which isn't completely irrational, then they will be okay with it. typically they are asking to see how you handle ethical situations and stress, not to get your precise view on a topic. but you definitely can't just give a wishy washy answer either.

i would say that my theology courses helped me develop an answer, but in some cases has actually made other decisions even harder.
Click to expand...

I think the interview is easily the most biased part of the admissions process. Some of these questions, I really think the professor is looking for a student to say something they want to hear, sometimes its the other way around.

I had a quite a few interviews where I was able to sense the other person just did not like me, and I did not get into those schools.
 
Ethics questions don't have single right answers. That is why they are ethics questions and not just trick questions.

Answering them "correctly" means taking into account all the various perspectives. "I can see why some might think this is the right way, but that way also has some merits, and that way is the one most in-line with such and such principles."
 
Seth Joo said:
The toughest question I got was from a doctor who asked me, you have a patient come into the ER and tells you please leave me alone and let me die in peace. He asked me what I would do in such a situation.
Click to expand...
From a legal standpoint, as long as the patient is mentally capable of making their own decisions, you cannot force care. When I see critical patients in the ER, the physician always asks them if they would want to be resuscitated if necessary. Going against the patient's wishes is disrespecting their autonomy
 
keels99 said:
From a legal standpoint, as long as the patient is mentally capable of making their own decisions, you cannot force care. When I see critical patients in the ER, the physician always asks them if they would want to be resuscitated if necessary. Going against the patient's wishes is disrespecting their autonomy
Click to expand...

If they did not want care, then why did they come to the hospital? Its a lot more complicated than that.
 
What animal would you like to become?
 
Seth Joo said:
If they did not want care, then why did they come to the hospital? Its a lot more complicated than that.
Click to expand...
No, actually, it's not. That is the fact. Sometimes people get transported to the hospital who are unresponsive at the time they are picked up, and refuse further care upon regaining consciousness. Others are forced to come in by family members. If a patient says "I am a DNR" we CANNOT resuscitate. Plain and simple. Have you worked in the ER? People come in all the time then decide they want to leave AMA. But the fact remains you cannot force care upon people
 
keels99 said:
No, actually, it's not. That is the fact. Sometimes people get transported to the hospital who are unresponsive at the time they are picked up, and refuse further care upon regaining consciousness. Others are forced to come in by family members. If a patient says "I am a DNR" we CANNOT resuscitate. Plain and simple. Have you worked in the ER? People come in all the time then decide they want to leave AMA. But the fact remains you cannot force care upon people
Click to expand...

This doctor was describing a situation where someone came on their own will to the hospital, when it came time to actually see the doctor the patient said she did want to be treated and wished to die, and she was clearly emotional. Nothing is ever black and white.
 
Well if she is having suicidal ideation (which is indicated when someone states they wish to die) that is different. At that point they require a psychiatric eval (which is non-optional.) But if they say "I don't want treatment, I just want to die", we still can't do anything (draw labs, do imaging, procedures, etc) UNLESS psych states they require admission to the psych unit (then you can get away with a lab draw.) The only thing we can do is try to convince the patient to opt in for treatment and discuss risks of going without it. You can easily get sued for forcing treatment on a patient. You MUST have consent to treat.
 
keels99 said:
Well if she is having suicidal ideation (which is indicated when someone states they wish to die) that is different. At that point they require a psychiatric eval (which is non-optional.) But if they say "I don't want treatment, I just want to die", we still can't do anything (draw labs, do imaging, procedures, etc) UNLESS psych states they require admission to the psych unit (then you can get away with a lab draw.) The only thing we can do is try to convince the patient to opt in for treatment and discuss risks of going without it. You can easily get sued for forcing treatment on a patient. You MUST have consent to treat.
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I already know that.
 
keels99 said:
Did you get autocorrected from squirrel, or am I just not getting the joke lol
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HAHAHA I guess the joke is the interviewee is so hyped up that even though they asked about an animal they happen to some reason think of a shape instead and blurt that out.

My jokes suck!
 
AlteredScale said:
HAHAHA I guess the joke is the interviewee is so hyped up that even though they asked about an animal they happen to some reason think of a shape instead and blurt that out.

My jokes suck!
Click to expand...
No, it's fine, I laughed regardless hahaha

Panicked interview moments are always funny (as long as they're not happening to you.)
 
Seth Joo said:
This doctor was describing a situation where someone came on their own will to the hospital, when it came time to actually see the doctor the patient said she did want to be treated and wished to die, and she was clearly emotional. Nothing is ever black and white.
Click to expand...
There are many reasons why someone would go to the hospital and then not want or no longer want care. Not everyone knows what the hospital can and will provide. At the end of the day some people expect magic, others simply want a sandwich.

Perhaps this patient in particular had no one and wanted to be around others who would show compassion during her passing. You don't know what someone wants or expects unless you ask. Even then, there is no guarantee that you'll ever get an answer.

At the end of the day, you can't force care unless the patient isn't of sound mind, a harm to himself, herself, or others. But, that doesn't mean you can't be caring. There's always something to provide even if it's just kind words or a simple touch. Sometimes that's really all someone wants.

Does someone like that belong in the hospital? Perhaps not. But, he or she is there. The very least that can be done is to acknowledge him or her as a person.
 
medickdb said:
There are many reasons why someone would go to the hospital and then not want or no longer want care. Not everyone knows what the hospital can and will provide. At the end of the day some people expect magic, others simply want a sandwich.

Perhaps this patient in particular had no one and wanted to be around others who would show compassion during her passing. You don't know what someone wants or expects unless you ask. Even then, there is no guarantee that you'll ever get an answer.

At the end of the day, you can't force care unless the patient isn't of sound mind, a harm to himself, herself, or others. But, that doesn't mean you can't be caring. There's always something to provide even if it's just kind words or a simple touch. Sometimes that's really all someone wants.

Does someone like that belong in the hospital? Perhaps not. But, he or she is there. The very least that can be done is to acknowledge him or her as a person.
Click to expand...

Well its a complicated issue, you can view it from many angles.
 
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