Worst/Funniest Interview Experiences

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DV-T said:
Gotta be honest. Answer depends on if interviewer noticed. If they didn't, then no worries.

However, if they did see you looking at your watch, did you see any facial cues that indicated annoyance? Did the interviewer's mannerism change?

For you next interview(s), I suggest removing the watch, putting it in your pocket, and putting it back on after the interviews.
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IIRC, there was a pause in the conversation and he asked me if there were any other things we should talk about. I said no and that we had basically covered my entire application and then I checked my watch.
He said "You're early, but thats because you got here early. We can talk about football if you like."
So then we talked about football for a good 10 min and he walked me back.


I checked my watch bc I was nervous, not because I was bored.....**** me lol
 
GoinHardenYaHoe said:
IIRC, there was a pause in the conversation and he asked me if there were any other things we should talk about. I said no and that we had basically covered my entire application and then I checked my watch.
He said "You're early, but thats because you got here early. We can talk about football if you like."
So then we talked about football for a good 10 min and he walked me back.


I checked my watch bc I was nervous, not because I was bored.....**** me lol
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Sounds good to me. If it bothered him, he probably would have just told you to leave.
 
Interviewer (older looking guy): with the advent of the internet, anecdotal evidence is a click away, and the medical field has transformed because of it, for better or for worse.

Me: totally agree my dude. I always say the best way to learn is from someone else’s mistake.

Interviewer (shifting in his seat): well, in the medical world, just hope that mistake isn’t a patient dying...

Room went awkwardly silent for a couple seconds. I changed to a lighter topic on the subject we were discussing but I could still feel his disdain for my comment. Oh well, I’m not wrong.
 
flyboy3 said:
Interviewer (older looking guy): with the advent of the internet, anecdotal evidence is a click away, and the medical field has transformed because of it, for better or for worse.

Me: totally agree my dude. I always say the best way to learn is from someone else’s mistake.

Interviewer (shifting in his seat): well, in the medical world, just hope that mistake isn’t a patient dying...

Room went awkwardly silent for a couple seconds. I changed to a lighter topic on the subject we were discussing but I could still feel his disdain for my comment. Oh well, I’m not wrong.
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That’s not a bad answer... at least you and the other person are not both killing a patient! That probably wouldn’t have helped to say that.
 
AnxietyNation said:
Interviewer: So how did you get into that chair?
Me: Well, I tripped a little bit, fumbled on the table cloth, and eventually got seated into the chair.
Interviewer: I meant more of your journey through the process
Me: Oh..
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That would have been a perfect transition if you had a rocky start in life e.g. raised in poverty, or traumatic event but still able to get to where you are due to adversity.
 
Welshman said:
Unless its a top 20 or state school chances are that most people also heard about it first through some online catalog, I wouldn't sweat it. I'd say the same thing TBH
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Yeah, I mean if you say something like you built your school list by looking through the MSAR to find schools whose mission fit your personal goals and where you fit in wrt location, stats, etc, it’s a legit answer.
 
Interviewer: "What class have you taken that you find was the least useful to you?"

Me: "I'd have to say organic chemistry. Outside of the MCAT, I didn't really find organic chemistry to be very useful. Although, that may be because I didn't perform too well in it (B's).

Interviewer: "Lol does carbon scare you?"

Me: "Carbon monoxide is pretty scary."

Interviewer: *chuckles
 
Dr. Jay said:
Interviewer: "What class have you taken that you find was the least useful to you?"

Me: "I'd have to say organic chemistry. Outside of the MCAT, I didn't really find organic chemistry to be very useful. Although, that may be because I didn't perform too well in it (B's).

Interviewer: "Lol does carbon scare you?"

Me: "Carbon monoxide is pretty scary."

Interviewer: *chuckles
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*names one of the few inorganic carbon molecules*
 
In a weird situation and wondering if I should report this encounter. At an interview last week:

question: current public health issue?
Me: opioid addiction
interviewer: "is that your scene?"
Me: ... I don't do drugs.

In the moment I thought it was weird but looking back, i believe it's an inappropriate question and assumption. Is it report worthy?
 
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ClamChowderrr said:
In a weird situation and wondering if I should report this encounter. At an interview last week:

question: current public health issue?
Me: opioid addiction
interviewer: "is that your scene?"
Me: ... I don't do drugs.

In the moment I thought it was weird but looking back, i believe it's an inappropriate question and assumption. Is it report worthy?
Click to expand...
No
 
Meeting with the associate dean of the med school for advice on applying to the MD/PhD program:

Him: So why the MD/PhD instead of just the MD. You can do research with the MD.
Me: Oh because of the troubleshooting and the pushing myself to the limits.

Like seriously worst answer ever for doing the PhD portion. He game me a weird look, wrote something down and said something. I don't know what he said, because I was like did I just say that.
 
ClamChowderrr said:
In a weird situation and wondering if I should report this encounter. At an interview last week:

question: current public health issue?
Me: opioid addiction
interviewer: "is that your scene?"
Me: ... I don't do drugs.

In the moment I thought it was weird but looking back, i believe it's an inappropriate question and assumption. Is it report worthy?
Click to expand...

Are you 100% sure he was actually asking that, and not like, "Is this an issue where you live, that you have encountered?"
 
ReapPremed said:
Are you 100% sure he was actually asking that, and not like, "Is this an issue where you live, that you have encountered?"
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It’s an ambiguous question. Luckily covered bases, addressed I’m not a drug user but FL has a current epidemic of overdoses and substance abuse.

Goro said:
No
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I’m just a neurotic pre-med, thx.
 
I do mock interviews as part of my job, and this exchange happened during one a few weeks ago:

Me: Why do you want to be a doctor?
Student: To help people.
Me: Can you elaborate a bit more?
Student: Well, I want to help as many people as I can.
Me: Do you think there are other ways to help people outside of being a physician? Perhaps through volunteering, nursing, etc?
Student: Sure, but I would never want to be a nurse. What do they really get to do anyway?
Me: ....


I had this exchange at an interview. It's not horrific, but I wish I would have thought my answer through a bit before just spitting this out.

Interviewer: If you could play any sport, which one would you play?
Me: Oh god... my only B in high school was in gym. I'm the least athletic person ever.
Interviewer: *Awkward laughing*
Me: Sorry, brief moment of panic there. I'm definitely more of a science and academia lover. Um, I guess if I could be magically gifted athletic ability I'd like to be on Dancing With the Stars. Does that count? [thinking: WHYYYYYY DID I SAY THAT]
Interviewer: Oh, I love that show!
Me: *sigh of relief*

Ultimately accepted!
 
willow84 said:
I had this exchange at an interview. It's not horrific, but I wish I would have thought my answer through a bit before just spitting this out.

Interviewer: If you could play any sport, which one would you play?
Me: Oh god... my only B in high school was in gym. I'm the least athletic person ever.
Interviewer: *Awkward laughing*
Me: Sorry, brief moment of panic there. I'm definitely more of a science and academia lover. Um, I guess if I could be magically gifted athletic ability I'd like to be on Dancing With the Stars. Does that count? [thinking: WHYYYYYY DID I SAY THAT]
Interviewer: Oh, I love that show!
Me: *sigh of relief*

Ultimately accepted!
Click to expand...

Nice!!! Competitive eating is a sport now. FWIW.
 
I was living in the Rockies while applying to med school, and my first interview was in a Great Lakes state. The first question they asked was why I didn't want to stay where I was. The truth is that I didn't love the local culture and wanted a change. I don't know how it happened, but what I actually said was something stupid about how bad the drivers were. Thirteen years later, I still cringe.

At a later interview, also at a school in a Great Lakes state, my interviewer looked at my application and saw that I did my undergrad at BYU, then started to laugh and asked if I'd seen Napoleon Dynamite (this was early 2005 and the movie was current). The first five minutes of the interview consisted of the two of us laughing about our favorite parts of the movie. At the end when I was given a chance to ask questions, I said, "Your state was recently the deciding vote in a very close and contentious election. How are people here doing with one another after that?" My interviewer gave me a great answer and that was that. I received my acceptance letter barely two weeks later, and I'm now an alumnus of that medical school. Moral of the story? Don't get too wrapped around the axle and don't overanalyze things. Talking about Napoleon Dynamite and asking a question about politics may actually be the right thing to do. Be a human in your interviews, because your interviewers are human, too.

Sent from my Pixel 2 using SDN mobile
 
HomeSkool said:
I was living in the Rockies while applying to med school, and my first interview was in a Great Lakes state. The first question they asked was why I didn't want to stay where I was. The truth is that I didn't love the local culture and wanted a change. I don't know how it happened, but what I actually said was something stupid about how bad the drivers were. Thirteen years later, I still cringe.

At a later interview, also at a school in a Great Lakes state, my interviewer looked at my application and saw that I did my undergrad at BYU, then started to laugh and asked if I'd seen Napoleon Dynamite (this was early 2005 and the movie was current). The first five minutes of the interview consisted of the two of us laughing about our favorite parts of the movie. At the end when I was given a chance to ask questions, I said, "Your state was recently the deciding vote in a very close and contentious election. How are people here doing with one another after that?" My interviewer gave me a great answer and that was that. I received my acceptance letter barely two weeks later, and I'm now an alumnus of that medical school. Moral of the story? Don't get too wrapped around the axle and don't overanalyze things. Talking about Napoleon Dynamite and asking a question about politics may actually be the right thing to do. Be a human in your interviews, because your interviewers are human, too.

Sent from my Pixel 2 using SDN mobile
Click to expand...

Good advice, but tbf, your interviewer brought up Napoleon Dynamite. Obviously, that pretty much immediately makes it fair game.

Edit: Although, my interviewer for EMDP2 had a painting hanging on her wall of Bill Murray as Steve Zissou. She didn't bring it up, but I felt like that was enough of an invitation to ask. We talked about Bill Murray movies for like 10 minutes, and she told me I was the first person to mention the painting.
 
Matthew9Thirtyfive said:
Good advice, but tbf, your interviewer brought up Napoleon Dynamite. Obviously, that pretty much immediately makes it fair game.
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One could argue that Napoleon Dynamite is always fair game, and some interviewers' failure to recognize that is evidence that we live in a flawed world.
 
HomeSkool said:
One could argue that Napoleon Dynamite is always fair game, and some interviewers' failure to recognize that is evidence that we live in a flawed world.
Click to expand...

I actually don’t like that movie very much. If you replace Napoleon Dynamite with Bill Murray, then you’re correct.
 
Matthew9Thirtyfive said:
I actually don’t like that movie very much. If you replace Napoleon Dynamite with Bill Murray, then you’re correct.
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921a12b2-2f3b-41c3-8b5f-0a630bc04308.jpg
 
willow84 said:
I do mock interviews as part of my job, and this exchange happened during one a few weeks ago:

Me: Why do you want to be a doctor?
Student: To help people.
Me: Can you elaborate a bit more?
Student: Well, I want to help as many people as I can.
Me: Do you think there are other ways to help people outside of being a physician? Perhaps through volunteering, nursing, etc?
Student: Sure, but I would never want to be a nurse. What do they really get to do anyway?
Me: ....


I had this exchange at an interview. It's not horrific, but I wish I would have thought my answer through a bit before just spitting this out.

Interviewer: If you could play any sport, which one would you play?
Me: Oh god... my only B in high school was in gym. I'm the least athletic person ever.
Interviewer: *Awkward laughing*
Me: Sorry, brief moment of panic there. I'm definitely more of a science and academia lover. Um, I guess if I could be magically gifted athletic ability I'd like to be on Dancing With the Stars. Does that count? [thinking: WHYYYYYY DID I SAY THAT]
Interviewer: Oh, I love that show!
Me: *sigh of relief*

Ultimately accepted!
Click to expand...

Outside the box thinking there. I like it.
 
Coltuna said:
I've literally never had a normal conversation outside of an interview where someone said "so tell me about yourself." It's very far from normal conversation haha. However, it's important because it sets the tone for the rest of the interview.
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I've had plenty of dates ask this. Mostly online, but some do straight up say it at a bar or something.
 
Robin-jay said:
I've had plenty of dates ask this. Mostly online, but some do straight up say it at a bar or something.
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I've never had that question on a date, but I've had more specific versions of it. If you're a normal human being who can judge the pace of a conversation, it's not hard to answer.
 
Matthew9Thirtyfive said:
I've never had that question on a date, but I've had more specific versions of it. If you're a normal human being who can judge the pace of a conversation, it's not hard to answer.
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I had a job interview literally a few days ago and that was the first question they asked. I just told them my educational background.

There was no pace to the conversation when that question was asked, that was the question that set the pace lol.

Honestly, I should probably start thinking of better answers when dates ask it, I tend to talk about educational background for even that....rofl.
 
Robin-jay said:
I had a job interview literally a few days ago and that was the first question they asked. I just told them my educational background.

There was no pace to the conversation when that question was asked, that was the question that set the pace lol.

Honestly, I should probably start thinking of better answers when dates ask it, I tend to talk about educational background for even that....rofl.
Click to expand...

My first question at an interview was "Tell me about yourself" and I literally said "Do you want the whole 'why med school' speech or just my general life synopsis?"

I still don't know why I said that. 😱
 
Interviewer: "Would you ever write a prescription for yourself or for a family member?"

Me: "Isn't that illegal?"

:smack:

Results: TBD
 
tiramisucheese said:
Sorry if this is a stupid question, but why is this a bad response?
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pewpew95 said:
They replied: "But it's actually legal, I'm surprised you didn't know that"
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It's not illegal everywhere but it is pretty universally frowned upon. I don't think it's an answer to be ashamed about, but they probably wanted to hear more of your ethical rationale (it'd be tempting but I wouldn't feel comfortable, if it's something delayable I may try to use my connections to get them to see another clinician, if it wasn't delayable I may end up prescribing but would also immediately consult colleagues to make sure they back my clinical thinking and/or get them to the ER, etc.)
 
pewpew95 said:
They replied: "But it's actually legal, I'm surprised you didn't know that"

I was pretty embarrassed and flustered
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Pretty sure you’re not expected to know the laws regarded prescriptions as a premed. It is unethical though.
 
In an emergency I would have no problems prescribing for myself or a family member. My friend's dad had to call himself in an epi-pen after eating shrimp and literally saved his own life. If it can wait, I'd wait. My step dad calls me in scripts all the time--not for pain meds or anything but for z-packs and things like that.
 
bioboy23 said:
In an emergency I would have no problems prescribing for myself or a family member. My friend's dad had to call himself in an epi-pen after eating shrimp and literally saved his own life. If it can wait, I'd wait. My step dad calls me in scripts all the time--not for pain meds or anything but for z-packs and things like that.
Click to expand...

Yeah there are definitely times you can do it. I imagine if you answer “never,” the next question will be about one of those times lol.
 
Matthew9Thirtyfive said:
Yeah there are definitely times you can do it. I imagine if you answer “never,” the next question will be about one of those times lol.
Click to expand...
Totally agree. It is illegal to self-prescribe, correct? Because I think, if i remember correctly, my buddy's dad said the pharm-tech was a little sketched-out by the situation when he was picking the epi-pen up, but she could see he was in distress and gave it to him.
 
Matthew9Thirtyfive said:
Pretty sure you’re not expected to know the laws regarded prescriptions as a premed. It is unethical though.
Click to expand...

bioboy23 said:
In an emergency I would have no problems prescribing for myself or a family member. My friend's dad had to call himself in an epi-pen after eating shrimp and literally saved his own life. If it can wait, I'd wait. My step dad calls me in scripts all the time--not for pain meds or anything but for z-packs and things like that.
Click to expand...

I just assumed it was illegal because that's how my dad made it seem when we were growing up, he wouldn't even write out z paks for us 😛
 
bioboy23 said:
Totally agree. It is illegal to self-prescribe, correct? Because I think, if i remember correctly, my buddy's dad said the pharm-tech was a little sketched-out by the situation when he was picking the epi-pen up, but she could see he was in distress and gave it to him.
Click to expand...

In some states, it is illegal to prescribe to anyone for which you don’t have a patient record. So unless you have a record on yourself, you would be in violation of the law. In other states it’s not really addressed.

Either way, it’s generally frowned upon and discouraged except in emergencies. The AMA says it is okay in emergencies like your friend’s dad.
 
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