What was Your Hardest Interview Question,

[AnEyeLikeMars]

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Well, it wouldn't be any fun if I just gave it away now would it? 😉

This was my reasoning. I said everything out loud, pretty much in this exact manner:

If humans are the only species that expose the whites of their eyes, that means exposing the whites of your eyes is a favorable trait (otherwise it wouldn't have survived for so long). The only effect I can think of that exposing whites would have is a negative one -- it makes camoflage less effective for hunting or hiding, especially in the dark. So, if it can't be a positive trait based on appearance, it has to be a positive trait based on something else. If not structure, then most certainly function.

From the statement, humans are the only species that expose whites (which I was not aware of), so that means that there has to be some function that human eyes have that other species' eyes do not. What is unique about human eyes?

Each eye's field of vision overlaps with the other. That in itself isn't special. What's special about this is that humans have this ability AND peripheral vision. From an evolutionary standpoint, that's big. Most species either evolved eyes that are located on the sides of the head, allowing for a greater range of vision (better for defensive purposes moreso than hunting), or eyes in the front of the head (better for hunting but definitely not for self-defense).

Now that that's established, what's so special about the whites? Well, this again goes back to function. What does having exposed whites enable us to do? Or rather, what would we not be able to do if we did not have exposed whites? The answer also has to do with the unique structure of the human eye (or rather, the eye socket).

That's as far as I'll go with that... I don't want to spoil all the fun 🙂... but the important thing to remember is that it doesn't matter if you get the question wrong, all that matters is that you have a coherent and rational line of reasoning to get to whatever your conclusion is, even if that conclusion is that you have no idea.

There's also a social cooperation argument, based on the idea that exposed whites (which contrast with the iris and pupil) allow us to determine where people are looking regardless of the direction their head is pointed. I don't recall the whole line of reasoning, but it was pretty interesting. Basically the point was that we are very socially complex species, and that eyes are important in communication.

But you're right, the answer is not what's important, it's the line of reasoning in an interview setting.

 

[Bacchus]

-As a female, how do you plan on balancing being a doctor with taking care of your kids. (I later learned this was an illegal question. Besides, I don't have any kids so I'm not sure where that came from.)

You probably wouldn't have gotten anything out of it by making a fuss. You're probably better off with the hindsight incase it happens again. I don't think it would have looked great if you replied with something to the extent of, "I am not answering that, it is illegal, let's move on." They would have either loved the tenacity or found something else to throw at you.

 

[Critical Mass]

Well, it wouldn't be any fun if I just gave it away now would it? 😉

This was my reasoning. I said everything out loud, pretty much in this exact manner:

If humans are the only species that expose the whites of their eyes, that means exposing the whites of your eyes is a favorable trait (otherwise it wouldn't have survived for so long). The only effect I can think of that exposing whites would have is a negative one -- it makes camoflage less effective for hunting or hiding, especially in the dark. So, if it can't be a positive trait based on appearance, it has to be a positive trait based on something else. If not structure, then most certainly function.

From the statement, humans are the only species that expose whites (which I was not aware of), so that means that there has to be some function that human eyes have that other species' eyes do not. What is unique about human eyes?

Each eye's field of vision overlaps with the other. That in itself isn't special. What's special about this is that humans have this ability AND peripheral vision. From an evolutionary standpoint, that's big. Most species either evolved eyes that are located on the sides of the head, allowing for a greater range of vision (better for defensive purposes moreso than hunting), or eyes in the front of the head (better for hunting but definitely not for self-defense).

Now that that's established, what's so special about the whites? Well, this again goes back to function. What does having exposed whites enable us to do? Or rather, what would we not be able to do if we did not have exposed whites? The answer also has to do with the unique structure of the human eye (or rather, the eye socket).

That's as far as I'll go with that... I don't want to spoil all the fun 🙂... but the important thing to remember is that it doesn't matter if you get the question wrong, all that matters is that you have a coherent and rational line of reasoning to get to whatever your conclusion is, even if that conclusion is that you have no idea.

Here's my answer:

When females saw the size of my ancestors' genitalia, their eyes bulged out to expose the whites. My ancestors thus kept breeding with the females whose eyes bulged out the most, i.e. showed the most interest in breeding with my ancestors' large genitalia.

Any surgeons on the interviewing panel? If so, instant acceptance. 👍

 

[uhohspaghettio]

Here's my answer:

When females saw the size of my ancestors' genitalia, their eyes bulged out to expose the whites. My ancestors thus kept breeding with the females whose eyes bulged out the most, i.e. showed the most interest in breeding with my ancestors' large genitalia.

Any surgeons on the interviewing panel? If so, instant acceptance. 👍

Good one!

 

[RadMD1day]

Here's my answer:

When females saw the size of my ancestors' genitalia, their eyes bulged out to expose the whites. My ancestors thus kept breeding with the females whose eyes bulged out the most, i.e. showed the most interest in breeding with my ancestors' large genitalia.

Any surgeons on the interviewing panel? If so, instant acceptance. 👍

and the panal unanamously says "Accepted"

 

[gary5]

"What interesting novel have you read lately?" Since I rarely read for recreation, I hate that question. Fortunately, it was during a group interview and was directed to the person next to me.

 

[MedStudentWanna]

Those aren't really illegal and they're understandable. They can't discriminate against you because you're female or want to have kids but they can (and will) ask. I got asked that. Its just like the "why MD" question. They want to know that you've REALLY thought through what your career will be like as an MD and you really understand how hard it is to have a family and have considered how you will handle it.

And yes, they ask women this question more than they ask men because shockingly despite feminism women are still the ones who give birth and still have to consider when is a good time to do that.

Men get questions about "have you considered military to pay for med school" and "how do you think you'll juggle a marraige with your profession." Which women are less likely to get.

Is it sexist? Yes. Is it understandable and necessary? Yes.

I don't buy it. I don't see how it's necessary for a woman and not a man. The question was "how do you plan on taking care of your children." What, men don't take care of their children? I think the "necessary" question would have been "how do you plan on juggling such a demanding career and HAVING children" since the implication is that she'd need time off to have those children, which can be a struggle to get during med school/start of residency. Taking care of children is a question that isn't limited to one sex and shouldn't be phrased as such.

 

[ItTollsForThee]

"Do you think there is anything wrong with a patient offering a gift?"

 

[laurenem]

at my state school:
So let's say you have a practice, you allocate 15% of your patient base to be uninsured patients. The other practice in the city only accepts 5%. Knowing you take uninsured patients, the emergency rooms keep referring them to you. Ethically, is it alright to say no and turn patients away? Let's say if your uninsured patient quota reaches 20 or 25% of your patient base??

Me:

yes it is ethical b/c if you take on too many unisured patients and can't afford to pay your bills then you will end up compromising the care of your other patients. it sucks, but true...

 

[Goldenhair]

Was this at your Buffalo interview?

Yes, It actually was!

Another question was "What is Noam Chomsky famous for?" (not Buffalo). For some reason I thought I have to describe the ideas he contributed to linguistics and psychology, but I guess it was even good enough to show some very general knowledge who he is.

 

[45408]

What was a decision you've made that you later regretted? I said speeding tickets.

 

[alwaysaangel]

I don't buy it. I don't see how it's necessary for a woman and not a man. The question was "how do you plan on taking care of your children." What, men don't take care of their children? I think the "necessary" question would have been "how do you plan on juggling such a demanding career and HAVING children" since the implication is that she'd need time off to have those children, which can be a struggle to get during med school/start of residency. Taking care of children is a question that isn't limited to one sex and shouldn't be phrased as such.

Fine. So the interviewer screwed up and worded it badly. So what?

Have you ever been on an interview at a place that does the whole PC thing? Its GODAWFUL. The people doing interviews are trained in advance. They can't ask about kids, spouses, race, homelife, and a whole other slew of things - some that make sense but some that are ridiculous. Because of this 2 page list of things they can't talk about the interview is rigid and awkward. Its not conversational at all because the interviewers have to be VERY careful to not lapse. They ask a question and its answered then they move on (furthermore they do panel interviews - 3 interviewers to 1 interviewee so that if someone does claim an 'illegal' question was asked they have more than one person there to verify it wasn't - so its not just he said she said).

How does that sound? If you're thinking brutal, awkward and painful then I agree. And I would rather have a nice older doctor just have a conversation with me and maybe ask about my future plans to take care of my kids than I would go through a politically correct interview. And I think most premeds would agree.

 

[Compass]

Come up with six words that describe you and explain why. SIX!!!

In reply to this one, I made my own list of 5 using a mnemonic. I know it sounds really stupid that I use a memory strat to remember my own, but I usually bungle up during interviews otherwise.

Altruistic (on volunteer work)
Broad-minded (on my electives and extracurriculars)
Compassionate (about helping people at my local hospital)
Dedicated (to ensuring that so-and-so volunteer activity is successful)
Experienced (with lab work)
Focused (on my goals)

Tada! If you make a mnemonic for yourself, you can rail these questions down. They ask for 4? No problem, just say ABCD. 6? ABCDEF. 26? Zoom! (JK) But you should be able to make a nice mnemonic for 6 as a back up plan.

"Do you think there is anything wrong with a patient offering a gift?"

Definitely. We work for ourselves. We don't expect anything in return. Accepting a gift makes you look like you work for property gratitude rather than moral gratitude.

Here's a question:

"If you have 100 life-saving vaccines, and 500 patients, how would you give up the drugs? Would age play a role?"

 

[Karina 07]

Fine. So the interviewer screwed up and worded it badly. So what?

Have you ever been on an interview at a place that does the whole PC thing? Its GODAWFUL. The people doing interviews are trained in advance. They can't ask about kids, spouses, race, homelife, and a whole other slew of things - some that make sense but some that are ridiculous. Because of this 2 page list of things they can't talk about the interview is rigid and awkward. Its not conversational at all because the interviewers have to be VERY careful to not lapse. They ask a question and its answered then they move on (furthermore they do panel interviews - 3 interviewers to 1 interviewee so that if someone does claim an 'illegal' question was asked they have more than one person there to verify it wasn't - so its not just he said she said).

How does that sound? If you're thinking brutal, awkward and painful then I agree. And I would rather have a nice older doctor just have a conversation with me and maybe ask about my future plans to take care of my kids than I would go through a politically correct interview. And I think most premeds would agree.

Oh come on.

The very fact that it was just "worded wrong" means that there WAS a way for the conversation to have proceeded which would let you talk about your future and such laid-back and all without being a sexist prick.

Honestly, the sexist prick part would have made an interview uncomfortable and have prevented that nice chummy conversation you're going for, anyway, imho.

 

[MedStudentWanna]

Fine. So the interviewer screwed up and worded it badly. So what?

No, it wasn't just the wording. The faulty language changes the entire question. That's my point. Had the interviewer asked how she plans to have children while going to med school, the answers would have varied from "I plan to have kids during 4th year" to "I plan to have kids during residency" to "I plan to wait until after my training to start my family."

Asking how she plans to *take care* of children as a doctor is an entirely different question.

Who's saying we want the PC police to be in interviews? I never said the question shouldn't have been asked. I said it WAS a sexist question, as stated because of the "as a woman" preface to it, which implies that balancing a career and homelife is solely a woman's responsibility and/or problem. Let's call a spade a spade here.

 

[MedStudentWanna]

He simply said how do you plan to care for your kids while being a doctor.

No, he said "AS A WOMAN, how do you plan..." That changes the entire pretense of the question. Why would the qualifier even need to be there?

And just so you know, panel interviews are a lot better than one-on-one, IMO.

Definitely. We work for ourselves. We don't expect anything in return. Accepting a gift makes you look like you work for property gratitude rather than moral gratitude.

Cool. So I guess that means you won't be accepting a monetary payment from that patient either then? After all, it's just moral gratitude motivating you.

Giving a gift to your doctor is no different than giving it to your hair dresser. I don't expect gifts, of course, but if a patient some day gives me a fruit basket, I'm not going to get on my moral high horse and say, "No thank you. I'm a doctor because I want to save lives and help people. I'm not allowed to accept fruit baskets." And anyone who says they would is ridiculous.

 

[MedStudentWanna]

because you are going to get plenty of sexist and awkward questions as a female physician and you need to learn to just deal.

Or, she can learn to stand up for herself and call a spade a spade. Just because you're content with taking sexist BS spewed at you (not talking about this particular case, just in general), doesn't mean others have to.

 

[AnesthesiaMD]

Are these just extreme examples or is it normal that you get asked crazy questions like these during interviews? How the hell do you prepare youself for this?

I am taking notes right now and will think of answers to these crazy questions later...you never know what may come up.

 

[MedStudentWanna]

Woman sure are sensitive. I'm not so sure they should even be doctors...

I'm speaking as a man, buddy. I just happen to know a sexist comment when I hear it and that was a sexist comment.

 

[DeadCactus]

It's a shame you don't have any respect for women then.

You talk as if women need to fight like a hungry dog for a chicken bone for any shred of respect they can get. I think most women have enough self-respect where they can afford to let someone get away with a poor way of phrasing a question...

 

[MedStudentWanna]

It's a shame you don't have any respect for women then.

You talk as if women need to fight like a hungry dog for a chicken bone for any shred of respect they can get. I think most women have enough self-respect where they can afford to let someone get away with a poor way of phrasing a question...

It's a shame you don't read my posts before you reply. I never said the guy shouldn't have asked the question. I never said the woman shouldn't have answered the question. What I said was in response to a poster who told the original poster the question wasn't the least bit sexist. It WAS sexist and it IS sexist. Should it have been asked? Not for me to say. Should it have been answered? Sure. Because the woman in question obviously had enough confidence in her ability to be a doctor to make it to the interview stage and if she chooses to raise children, that's her right. My point was simply that it was indeed a sexist question.

Perhaps you should learn to really comprehend what you read before you make judgments and blanket statements about people.

 

[DeadCactus]

Perhaps you should learn to really comprehend what you read before you make judgments and blanket statements about people.

"Or, she can learn to stand up for herself and call a spade a spade. Just because you're content with taking sexist BS spewed at you (not talking about this particular case, just in general), doesn't mean others have to."

That's pretty funny considering you actually go out of your way in this statement to drag the discussion into areas where you know nothing about a person.

And accusing me of a lack of "reading comprehension" implies that I read your posts to begin with. Assumptions are dangerous things...

 

[MedStudentWanna]

That's pretty funny considering you actually go out of your way in this statement to drag the discussion into areas where you know nothing about a person.

I didn't actually drag the discussion into areas where I know nothing about a person. The person in question said that women have to learn to "just deal" with sexist questions because they're women. I said that just because she's content with "just dealing" doesn't mean others are. That isn't an assumption. It's an implication that SHE made.

You're gonna ROCK the verbal portion of the MCAT, aren't you bub? LOL

 

[AnesthesiaMD]

No, it wasn't just the wording. The faulty language changes the entire question. That's my point. Had the interviewer asked how she plans to have children while going to med school, the answers would have varied from "I plan to have kids during 4th year" to "I plan to have kids during residency" to "I plan to wait until after my training to start my family."

The interviewee might have said "I don't plan on having kids till after my residency." Which would have been an acceptable answer. Being a doctor out of residency with kids is probably a lot easier than being a doctor in residency, I know of several female physicians who have managed to balance this. Granted, they're all in private practice.

 

[RisingSun]

What would you do if you were a 4th student on a surgery clerkship and found out that the pediatric surgeon was sleeping with the mother of one of his patients? You also learn that the mother is afraid to break off the relationship because she believes the surgeon is the only person who can treat and eventually cure her young daughter's cancer. BTW, the mother is married, and of course the husband has no idea of the affair.

That was only one of the many ethical questions that I was asked at this interview.

 

[DeadCactus]

I didn't actually drag the discussion into areas where I know nothing about a person. The person in question said that women have to learn to "just deal" with sexist questions because they're women. I said that just because she's content with "just dealing" doesn't mean others are. That isn't an assumption. It's an implication that SHE made.

You're gonna ROCK the verbal portion of the MCAT, aren't you bub? LOL

"ROCK" is a bit of an understatement.

But tell me, how will you have time to take the MCAT when you're so busy defending women's rights for them? (Since they are obviously too weak to defend themselves; you just had to jump in.)

 

[HreComesTheSun]

describe dna transcription.

i wish i had gotten that one, here's mine:

Q: if i had $5000 to invest, would you suggest i invest it in companies that make siRNA (small interfering RNA)?

A: yes

Q: but gene therapy failed, what makes you think siRNA will be useful?

A: um...

i can't remember my answer, but i must have blabbed out something decent (acceptance)

 

[nabs86]

I don't have any clue what you're talking about. He wasn't a sexist prick. Where was he a sexist prick?!?! (you're clearly a feminist and since I'm not - perhaps I'm missing something) Please point to me where someone was told - well you're a woman and therefore its your job to sit at home in the kitchen and care for the kids. How do you expect to do that while being a doctor?

He simply said how do you plan to care for your kids while being a doctor. And for all you know this was a female interviewer. Or this particular interviewer asked men and women. WHERE WAS HE A SEXIST PRICK?!

Also, I don't know what you're talking about there was a conversation for him to ask a sexist prick question. Yes, there was a conversation because it wasn't a PC interview. That was my point - which you clearly didn't grasp. Also, if being asked how you plan to take care of your kids while being a doctor makes you uncomfortable to the point that you can't continue conversing with another human being then you need to look into a new field - because you are going to get plenty of sexist and awkward questions as a female physician and you need to learn to just deal.

Uh oh. I didn't mean to be a troll. They were just some really difficult questions to answer, and I thought it was interesting how much being female came up in the interviews. I didn't make a fuss about the "how will you handle your kids" question and just handled it as gracefully as I could. What really caught me off-guard was that I was asked that during an interview for a joint BS/MD program. So I was only 17 at the time and I didn't really know how to answer. And marriage/kids hadn't come up previously in the interview. What surprised me was the assumption that I WILL in fact have kids someday even though I never mentioned wanting any. By the way, the interviewer who asked me that was male but I don't think he was "a sexist prick." It might have been an inappropriate question but I wouldn't label him for one mistake. I only mentioned those questions because I struggled to answer them, not to start an argument.

 

[alwaysaangel]

Uh oh. I didn't mean to be a troll. They were just some really difficult questions to answer, and I thought it was interesting how much being female came up in the interviews. I didn't make a fuss about the "how will you handle your kids" question and just handled it as gracefully as I could. What really caught me off-guard was that I was asked that during an interview for a joint BS/MD program. So I was only 17 at the time and I didn't really know how to answer. And marriage/kids hadn't come up previously in the interview. What surprised me was the assumption that I WILL in fact have kids someday even though I never mentioned wanting any. By the way, the interviewer who asked me that was male but I don't think he was "a sexist prick." It might have been an inappropriate question but I wouldn't label him for one mistake. I only mentioned those questions because I struggled to answer them, not to start an argument.

Yeah I know you didn't mean to start anything.

My main point in responding to you at all was to let anyone who is going to be interviewing in the future is that:

Women you will likely be asked about having children/a family. And you should think about how you wish to answer. Its not really an illegal question, and balking at it will win you no points (again not toward you or saying you did balk at it - just making sure that people are prepared).

I'm not even bothering responding to the prick who has gone on some long tirade about it - he is the worst kind of sexist if you ask me - the kind that thinks women need to be told whats sexist, how they should respond and what should be done about it. I'd rather be asked what I plan to do about having a family as a woman, than I would have a discussion with someone who's going to tell me how to deal with inappropriately worded question and inform me that I'm weak for not fighting back. I personally find the latter much more offensive and most women would agree.

Sexism still exists, its an unfortunate fact in some cases, but sometimes its just a result of biology. Men and women are inherently different in certain ways and to pretend otherwise is ignorant. Just as an MA I have gotten comments about how "cute" I look in my scrubs, how they would prefer to talk to a man (often this isn't really sexist/sometimes it is), shocked expression when I say I'm going into med school, etc. etc. The comments are unending especially since I work in a free clinic and we get A LOT of older homeless men who honestly just don't know any better. Occaisionally when its been appropriate I have informed them that they should be careful who they say that to in the future, but usually I just thank them for what they think is a compliment and move on. You can't fight everyone - its not worth it and its not helpful.

 

[MedStudentWanna]

Yeah I know you didn't mean to start anything.

My main point in responding to you at all was to let anyone who is going to be interviewing in the future is that:

Women you will likely be asked about having children/a family. And you should think about how you wish to answer. Its not really an illegal question, and balking at it will win you no points (again not toward you or saying you did balk at it - just making sure that people are prepared).

I'm not even bothering responding to the prick who has gone on some long tirade about it - he is the worst kind of sexist if you ask me - the kind that thinks women need to be told whats sexist, how they should respond and what should be done about it. I'd rather be asked what I plan to do about having a family as a woman, than I would have a discussion with someone who's going to tell me how to deal with inappropriately worded question and inform me that I'm weak for not fighting back. I personally find the latter much more offensive and most women would agree.

LOL, I love how all your posts end with "and most women would agree" or "and most pre-meds would agree." What, did you take a poll? Are you incapable of posting your thoughts without the validation that comes from making up some stupid qualifier as if you're not the only one sitting on that fence?

And calling me "prick" is definitely helpful to the discussion. Maturity reigns supreme.

 

[JustAdocInBox]

To the OP, will you please post the list of questions?

Thanx

 

[RadMD1day]

Hi Guys, I thought this might help. I am posting questions I got off of SDN a while back. I am not going to try to repost all of these on this thread. I did copy and paste them on a word file, so if you want what I have just pm me.
good luck all!
🙂
These were actual questions asked to 32 students during their interviews at UMMC. The numbers located at the end of some questions denotes the number of people who were asked this question. Yellow questions are things I was asked in my interviews.

1. You're a used car salesman. Sell yourself. x2
2. What ethical decision would be the hardest for you to make both in the medical profession and your personal life?
3. What is the difference between a good doctor and a bad doctor? (I was asked this 3 times!)
4. Who was the most influential person in your life?
5. What's the worst part about being a patient? x3
6. Who would be the first person you would call if you had a really bad day in medical school?
7. One of your fellow M-4s is high; how do you respond? [If your fellow student was high going into clinicals, what would you do? (**Hint always let the faculty know)] x3
8. What are weaknesses? (You have to be honest, but in a way that doesn't reflect too negative on yourself.)
9. Why UMC?
10. What is one positive/negative about your undergrad institution? x6
11. What has been your most important leadership role? [tell me the most important leadership role you have played in your life (not necessarily a leadership position with a title)] [How have you demonstrated leadership outside of an elected position or organization?] x3
12. How has racial/ethnical backgrounds influenced your pursuit/perception of medicine. (Tough question for a Caucasian.)
13. Why do you want to be a doctor? x4
14. If your mom wanted a friend's patient record information how would you handle the situation?
15. How much clinical experience do you have?
16. What caused your grades to go down during X semester?
17. Who has stood out in your mind as a good leader and why?
18. Describe your relationship with your father in one word.
19. What role has diversity played in your life?
20. Who do you admire?
21. Do you like to travel?
22. If I were a nervous first time patient of yours, how would you handle our first meeting?
23. What do you think are the 3 most important qualities in a physician?
24. What does your college record reflect about you?
25. What do you think is the most important issue facing physicians in Mississippi?
26. What would you say to a person who says: "I would like to know my father's condition, please tell me before you tell him. I don't think he can handle any bad news"?
27. What is the most recent book you read? (I hadn't read any in while and the interviewer asked me to give a synopsis of the most recent one!)
28. What is your ACT score/MCAT score? [What was your ACT score?] [What was your GPA? Your MCAT? Would you like to offer any comments on either?] x4
29. What would your enemy say about you? [What would your best friend/enemy say about you?] x5
30. What do you want me to tell the admissions committee about you.?[Tell me about yourself.] x3
31. What problems do you see in the medical field?
32. Which would you rather be-the ball or the glove? [If you could be the ball or the bat, which one and why?] x2
33. Give me a pro and a con about being a physician.
34. How would you deal with a patient who won't listen to you?
35. Why medicine?
36. Why didn't I take the MCAT in Aug. to improve my April score?
37. How did you study for the MCAT? (Both interviewers asked this) x3
38. What type of doctor would you like to become?
39. What do you like about clinical medicine as opposed to research?
40. What was the most difficult experience of your life?
41. What would you change if you could change anything? (Open topic)
42. What would you ask if you were the interviewer? [If you were interviewing a medical student, what would you ask them and why?] x2
43. If a man found out he was HIV positive and said he wasn't going to tell his wife, what would you do?
44. Is there anything you would like to add?
45. What is your favorite volunteer experience?
46. What is your favorite class and why?
47. What is a difficult situation that you have encountered, and how did you handle it?
48. What major issues do you feel face medical students today?
49. If there were only 1 spot left, and you and another personal with identical credentials were competing for the spot, What would you want me to say to advocate you?
50. If you could invite any five people to dinner, who and why? [If you could have a dinner party and invite any 6 people, living or dead, who would you invite? (Both interviewers asked this!)] x2
51. Tell me about your family.
52. What are your hobbies? [What do you do for fun?] x2
53. Describe your volunteer experiences.
54. How have you interacted with people of other backgrounds/races in the past?
55. How have your community service experiences impacted your personal development?
56. Why did you go to University of Mississippi (my undergrad) when you probably had offers to go to more prestigious schools?
57. Your teaching and research experiences seem to qualify you to pursue academic medicine. Why are you more interested in clinical medicine?
58. Tell me about your life from childhood to now.
59. Tell me everything you have done since waking up this morning. X3
60. What were my weaknesses in college -- do you want to explain weak points on your transcript?
61. Why do you want to be a physician over another career choice? (I'm currently out of school and working).
62. What personality characteristics make you suited to be a physician?
63. Name one positive and one negative trait about you that would help and hurt you in the medical field.
64. Give me some interesting facts about you pre high-school years.
65. What made you decide to choose the undergraduate university that you did? x2
66. Where will you be in 15 years? x3
67. What good qualities have you seen in doctors, and what bad qualities have you seen? [What's the difference between a good and a bad doctor? Tell me about these experiences.] x2
68. Where do you see medicine going?

 

[LteAprlIntervew]

LOL, I love how all your posts end with "and most women would agree" or "and most pre-meds would agree." What, did you take a poll? Are you incapable of posting your thoughts without the validation that comes from making up some stupid qualifier as if you're not the only one sitting on that fence?

And calling me "prick" is definitely helpful to the discussion. Maturity reigns supreme.

Hey medwanna you are right. Also Putting qualifiers after ones own opinion just shows a complete lack of confidence. But After some of the things he said I see the need for those qualifiers!

 

[Oculus Sinistra]

"If you had access to a time machine, who from history would you want to speak to and why?"

Because when you're in your organic 2 lecture, you're not supposed to be thinking about the chichibabin reaction on the board. You're supposed to be thinking:

"You know what would be great? If I could go back in time and tell off Napoleon."

 

[jochi1543]

What surprised me was the assumption that I WILL in fact have kids someday even though I never mentioned wanting any.

I feel you on that one. I DON'T want children, and I can just imagine the reaction I'd get from most people if I said that during an interview, especially from men. I noticed around my friends that very few females actually want (or like) children. It's a double-edged sword - if you want children, you're unfit for any job outside of administration/reception, and if you don't want children, you're a cold b!tch. And I can't tell you how many times I've heard the "females will take time off to raise children and/or work part-time, so why even admit them to medical school when you can admit men who will work full-time."🙄

And then you wonder why many women get bothered when asked such seemingly "innocent," "poorly worded" questions.

 

[Crookshanks]

Another question was "What is Noam Chomsky famous for?" (not Buffalo). For some reason I thought I have to describe the ideas he contributed to linguistics and psychology, but I guess it was even good enough to show some very general knowledge who he is.

They ASKED this? I would have made reference to Hugo Chavez's speech at the UN, lol! But honestly, that's crazy, I mean unless you're really into politics you will not know who Noam Chomsky is.

 

[Crookshanks]

43. If a man found out he was HIV positive and said he wasn't going to tell his wife, what would you do?

http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/326/7402/1286-h

"In a landmark case about patient confidentiality, two GPs in Australia have been successfully sued for breach of contract and for negligence for failing to ensure that a man who tested positive for HIV told his wife about the result."

 

[Crookshanks]

Also...about man with HIV and informing wife...

http://www.ijme.in/062or056.html


"A difficult case

Not all cases are so clear-cut. Consider the case of a family physician who has treated a young man whose blood tests positive for the HIV antibody. Despite advice to the contrary, the boy wants to marry. Can the doctor inform the would-be wife of the boy’s HIV status?

Yes, according to Parikh’s textbook of forensic medicine: “Doctors have a legal as well as ethical responsibility to warn partners with the AIDS virus. Since AIDS is invariably fatal, the physician-patient relationship of confidentiality becomes secondary when it involves potential harm to another individual”. However, the final test of this problem will be in the court of law.

The American Medical Association has laid down clear guidelines in this respect. “Where there is no statute that mandates or prohibits the reporting of sero-positive individuals to the public health authority and a physician knows that a sero-positive individual is endangering a third party, the physician should (1) attempt to persuade the infected person to cease endangering the third party; (2) if persuasion fails, notify authorities; and (3) if the authorities take no action, notify the endangered third party.” (JAMA, 1988, March 4. 1361) The General Medical Council of the UK has given similar advice."

 

[Ephesus]

"With your interest in science and physics, do you believe in God?"

You can probably guess why this was difficult for me! 🙄

They can't bring up religion...

 

[146233]

A friend of mine, who had forgotten to remove his stud earrings, was asked at the University of Minnesota if he was gay. "What is your persuasion?"

The answer notwithstanding, he ended up e-mailing the Dean of Admissions who immediately offered him a second interview. If he'd gone, I guarantee he'd have been admitted just to avoid litigation!

He wound up at Rush. ;-)
-z

 

[pianola]

bumpin' on up 👍

 

[Leejwwc]

What would you do if you caught a good friend cheating off of you on an exam?

 

[Kaydubz]

What would you do if you caught a good friend cheating off of you on an exam?

Anyone who would turn in a "good friend" is no friend at all. He'll probably make it up by buying you a few beers next time you go out.

 

[Isis24]

I was recently asked "tell me about a mistake you've made".

 

[nontrdgsbuiucmd]

if you could change a past occurrence in your life, what would you change and how would it impact things

what scares you in this process (of going to med school & becoming a physician)

 

[m_rivera84]

Well, it wouldn't be any fun if I just gave it away now would it? 😉

This was my reasoning. I said everything out loud, pretty much in this exact manner:

If humans are the only species that expose the whites of their eyes, that means exposing the whites of your eyes is a favorable trait (otherwise it wouldn't have survived for so long). The only effect I can think of that exposing whites would have is a negative one -- it makes camoflage less effective for hunting or hiding, especially in the dark. So, if it can't be a positive trait based on appearance, it has to be a positive trait based on something else. If not structure, then most certainly function.

From the statement, humans are the only species that expose whites (which I was not aware of), so that means that there has to be some function that human eyes have that other species' eyes do not. What is unique about human eyes?

Each eye's field of vision overlaps with the other. That in itself isn't special. What's special about this is that humans have this ability AND peripheral vision. From an evolutionary standpoint, that's big. Most species either evolved eyes that are located on the sides of the head, allowing for a greater range of vision (better for defensive purposes moreso than hunting), or eyes in the front of the head (better for hunting but definitely not for self-defense).

Now that that's established, what's so special about the whites? Well, this again goes back to function. What does having exposed whites enable us to do? Or rather, what would we not be able to do if we did not have exposed whites? The answer also has to do with the unique structure of the human eye (or rather, the eye socket).

That's as far as I'll go with that... I don't want to spoil all the fun 🙂... but the important thing to remember is that it doesn't matter if you get the question wrong, all that matters is that you have a coherent and rational line of reasoning to get to whatever your conclusion is, even if that conclusion is that you have no idea.

not to be a prick or anything, but I looked it up on google and the hypothesis on this eye-white thing has to do with social behavior and interaction. something about how eye-whites allow the other person to know where you are looking, and enhance social interactions

they did some sort of test with apes and humans, and different gazes... apes followed head movements, while humans followed eye movement.

well, you're right that the conclusion doesn't matter.


but MAN , these questions are tough... although i rather answer these questions than 'why medicine?'

 

[alwaysaangel]

but MAN , these questions are tough... although i rather answer these questions than 'why medicine?'

Thats probably bad. Because most of these questions are pretty rare. But "why medicine" is asked at every interview.

 

[ButImLETired]

At a recent OOS interview....


"Did you apply to California schools?"
"Sure, I applied pretty much all over the country though, I'm really not committed to any one place"
"So you don't want to go to school in California?"
"Location is the least important aspect for me. It's about where I'm happy."
"You like to move around?"
"Yes, I do"
"But if we train you, we don't want you to move away. Would you move away? If you were our best student, would you leave here and go somewhere else? Cause we would want you to stay."

errr.......

I also got "what are the 3 best qualities your friends would say you have and what's your worst flaw", "if you were to go to a party and not know anyone, what would people say about you the next day", "what would you fix about the healthcare system and how"....and there were more, but at this point I was a bit stressed and forgot almost everything.

 

[alwaysaangel]

"Did you apply to California schools?"
"Sure, I applied pretty much all over the country though, I'm really not committed to any one place"
"So you don't want to go to school in California?"
"Location is the least important aspect for me. It's about where I'm happy."
"You like to move around?"
"Yes, I do"
"But if we train you, we don't want you to move away. Would you move away? If you were our best student, would you leave here and go somewhere else? Cause we would want you to stay."

errr.......

This is super common for Cali applicants at out of state interviews. They don't want to train you and then have you go back home - you have to convince them you want to live there FOREVER!

 

[SDN2013]

"Do you believe Snape will terminally end the life of You-Know-Who ?"

this was before the last book came out.