what is the best way to prep for interviews?

[happybirthday]

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i'm sure this thread has been done 100 times over but the only results i saw had 3-4 responses...


-1. why do you want to practice medicine?
-2. why do you want to go here?
-3. so i see ___ activity on your amcas, explain it to me.


what else? moral questions? what is a good source for preparation materials

 

[NickNaylor]

Look at the interview feedback section for schools your interviewing at. As far as the questions you provided, frankly if you can't answer those at this point, you've got some larger issues you might want to address. Do some basic research on a school and/or talk to students beforehand, but other than that you should know why your activities are important to you and why you want to become a physician. No one can help you with those answers other than yourself.

A good way to generally prepare is to glance over your primary, reread the secondary you submitted if there was anything substantive you had to discuss, and get a good night's sleep.

 

[happybirthday]

Look at the interview feedback section for schools your interviewing at. As far as the questions you provided, frankly if you can't answer those at this point, you've got some larger issues you might want to address. Do some basic research on a school and/or talk to students beforehand, but other than that you should know why your activities are important to you and why you want to become a physician. No one can help you with those answers other than yourself.

A good way to generally prepare is to glance over your primary, reread the secondary you submitted if there was anything substantive you had to discuss, and get a good night's sleep.

Seems simple enough. thx👍

 

[eHombre]

As far as the questions you provided, frankly if you can't answer those at this point, you've got some larger issues you might want to address.

Didn't have to be a dck about it. I think OP just wanted to know whether there were any other common questions at interviews, other than the ones he/she posted. The second half of your post was helpful though.

 

[aSagacious]

The reason that those questions are so frequently referenced is because they almost invariably come up during interviews. As an anecdote, #2 and 3 occupied the majority of my interviews. I agree that the interview feedback forum is a good place to catch many curveballs.

 

[Ontology]

I second Nick.

 

[SellerAl]

Didn't have to be a dck about it. I think OP just wanted to know whether there were any other common questions at interviews, other than the ones he/she posted. The second half of your post was helpful though.

he's not being a dick, he's not only right, but he's also trying to help you...

 

[eHombre]

what else? moral questions? what is a good source for preparation materials

This was the OP's question. OP wasn't asking for help/condescending advice with the questions he/she listed.

 

[kexy]

If you're really worried about moral questions, you might want to google "ethical theories" and glance over something like this:
http://www.trinity.edu/cbrown/intro/ethical_theories.html
so you can provide some theoretical basis for the answer you choose to give.

I agree with everyone else, definitely prepare for all the questions you see in the interview feedback for your school. At some schools, they ask from a stock question bank, so the interview feedback enables you to anticipate and prepare for 99% of the questions you'll get.

Have a good, coherent, not-rambling answer to "So tell me about yourself."
If you are OOS, be prepared to explain not only "why this school" but "why this city/state."

Good luck!

 

[rofl]

how long / concrete should our "why do u want to practice medicine" and "why ____" be?


4 points enough?

i mean, i hope WORKING IN A F*CKING HOSPITAL FOR 3 YEARS HAS SHOWN YOU THAT I WANT TO DO THIS AND I AM ANNOYED THAT YOU'RE ASKING ME SUCH AN INANE QUESTION.

but srsly, how long

 

[kpcrew]

interview feedback was the best. the questions were spot on, even the ones that i didn't think would come up.

 

[Ismet]

how long / concrete should our "why do u want to practice medicine" and "why ____" be?


4 points enough?

i mean, i hope WORKING IN A F*CKING HOSPITAL FOR 3 YEARS HAS SHOWN YOU THAT I WANT TO DO THIS AND I AM ANNOYED THAT YOU'RE ASKING ME SUCH AN INANE QUESTION.

but srsly, how long

In my opinion, quality over quantity. Perhaps 2-3 points, and specifically explain why each thing is important. Don't just say you like the location because you want to be in a city, explain why a city atmosphere is specifically appealing to you, the opportunities it offers, etc....

Also, the "why medicine" question is completely valid. Helps to weed out the people who really shouldn't be doing medicine. You could be a completely different person in real life than you are on paper. Hypothetical: maybe you worked in a hospital for 3 years just to put it on your app, but you did the minimum work/learning possible because you didn't enjoy it. A good interviewer can see right through the BS

 

[rofl]

Also, the "why medicine" question is completely valid. Helps to weed out the people who really shouldn't be doing medicine. You could be a completely different person in real life than you are on paper. Hypothetical: maybe you worked in a hospital for 3 years just to put it on your app, but you did the minimum work/learning possible because you didn't enjoy it. A good interviewer can see right through the BS

guess i disagree there.

actions > words.

i did 3 years in a hospital and got 4 publications out of it and was a clinical research coordinator in FL for 3 oncology clinical trials.

me talking like your standing 21 year old pre-med is an insult. (i'm 25)

 

[rxnfiend]

To be honest, preparing for interviews makes you seem insincere and like a robot. I never prepped for interviews besides glancing at their website for 10 minutes max to re-familiarize myself with anything unique. As long as you can answer Why Medicine?, then you will be just fine. I truly believe being friendly and conversational will get you very far in the interview... Worked for me. 🙂

 

[kautionwirez]

I read a book about medical school interviews. Pretty much all questions should be answered with 3 or so examples of your personal experiences if it is about why medicine/doctor/this school. And bring up why you are unique (per se) from your experiences, any red flags, and whatever you want to point out you think is important.

If questions are just for conversation, then I just talk casually about whatever topics interviewers bring up.

If you are a terrible interviewee, record yourself in a mock interview and watch the horrid video. Then practice some more.

I had interviews that were stress free, conversative, and hardcore so be prepared for anything.

 

[Ismet]

guess i disagree there.

actions > words.

i did 3 years in a hospital and got 4 publications out of it and was a clinical research coordinator in FL for 3 oncology clinical trials.

me talking like your standing 21 year old pre-med is an insult. (i'm 25)

I'm not saying that YOUR time in the hospital was just for show. That is what "hypothetical" means. I was generalizing and defending the validity of the question that you thought was pointless. I'm sorry if it came off as an insult (wasn't meant to be), however I hope you don't have the mentality of "I'm so qualified for this position, why are they even asking me about it?" when you go into your interviews. There's a line between confidence and cockiness.

Age has little to do with it, so I don't see why you're taking that as an insult. A 25-year-old can have less experience and be more immature than an experienced 21-year-old (just check out the thread about the youngest Rhodes scholar). I know a 14-year-old who went to Intel and won the Google International Science Fair, so I can't imagine what she'll do by the time she's 21!