I would say well, Ive only known one. I would proceed to draw a middle-eastern man and name him: Amine Oacid (pronounced A-meen Oh aceed). Just to spice things up Id throw in some commentary about where he comes from, what his family is like, and his personal views on the American healthcare system. Just to cover my bases I might give him a generic amino acid tattoo. Its true that this is risky
but I look at it this way; the interview is supposed to be about you as a doctor, not how many amino acids you can draw, how many Latin terms you can spout off, or how many push-ups you can do. Im not saying that the interviewer doesnt have the right to ask the question, but he/she would only put you on the spot like this to throw you off, put you under pressure, and see what you do. I think that turning it into something humorous would show that you CAN think under pressure, that you have a sense of humor, and that youre willing to do something bold (shows leadership qualities). I like the other guys idea as well
to draw a dot and call it a scale-model. Not everyone could pull this off, you need to be very careful not to seem cocky, but in the end I think ingenuity would be appreciated more than blind submission to unusual questioning. If nothing else it will make you stand out, and that is almost never a bad thing
well, you might want to keep your clothes on though.
As to the above post about you seeming smug
that might be the case, only you and the interviewer know. I agree that specifically stating Are there any questions youd like to ask me? seems a little presumptuous. Its as if youre saying Im here to interview, so you should be asking me questions and I should be answering them. It all depends on how you say this though
.if the conversation were winding down, and you were both communicating jovially, I wouldnt see this as being a problem if stated more like So do you see anything on my application that concerns you? or simply Would you like me to clarify anything about my application or experiences? That way you are trying to bring the focus back to yourself without actually putting yourself on the spot
after all, your application is your proxy-self >). The other thing you can do is ask him more questions
but not about his research. Ask instead about his views on physicians, healthcare, the school, the city, etc. That brings the conversation back to what you really should be talking about, and if you are a good conversationalist you will use what hes saying to interject your own agreements, disagreements, opinions, and other thoughts. If hes not willing to take the lead in the interview then you should. At least this way you have the opportunity to direct the conversation to topics you feel more comfortable with.
Just some examples of this
So, what would you say made you want to become a doctor the most? (gives you a chance to say why you want to be a doctor as well, just add I completely understand that
I would have to say that for me its because
..)
In your experiences as a physician what would you say is the number one problem youve encountered with our healthcare system? (I would stick to whatever answer he gives, but you can interject your own opinion on why you agree with him, and then phrase whatever you think the biggest problem is by adding
.but what do you think about xxxxxx issue?)
All in all
.if he wants to talk, then by all means let him talk!! Show your interest by actively participating in the conversation and asking him clarifying questions (this is rule number 1 in customer service training). Finally, realize that as a physician he has encountered 100x what you have, and he has a ton of things that you really would like his opinion or viewpoint on
take advantage of that!
