How do you prepare for the Medical School Interview?

Dear Dr. Dale,

I hope to interview for medical school during the next cycle and I was wondering how to prepare for the medical school interview?

SH Illinois

Dear SH,

It is never too early to prepare for the interview.  Interviewing skills are like any other skill, they can be learned and even the best candidates can always improve their skillset in this area to optimize their success chances in the admission process.  Before discussing how to prepare I think it is important to understand the purpose of the interview.  According to Debbie Melton Director of Admissions at OHSU School of Medicine,

“We are looking for the applicant who has demonstrated a balance between having the academic horsepower to succeed in medical school and having tested their motivation and commitment to medicine.  We want them to explore the health care field and solidify their commitment to becoming an MD, along with demonstrating their social consciousness by helping others.  The power of the interview allows us to assess an applicant’s ability to articulate their ideas, thought and motivations.  We are able to explore their emotional maturity, compassion for people and passion for medicine.“ (Interviewing for Health Professions Schools. National Association of Advisors for the Health Professions, p.11.)

           

            Four general areas the admissions committee will address include: Can they do the work? Is the applicant making an informed career choice? Does the applicant demonstrate empathy? Is the student prepared to spend the time in professional school and the time in practice it takes to care for each patient? By the time you advance to the interview stage you have been proven academically qualified (and you should be justifiably excited), so your preparation should focus on addressing the other three issues.

            You should convince the examiner that you would make an authentic, amicable, empathetic physician.  Remember to look and act the part. Be professional with your attire and personable like you would be if you were meeting your significant others family for the first time.  Authenticity is critical to the interview process.  If your mouth says you love the homeless but your body language says you aren’t interested you fail. The interviewer will want to see if the paper they have read about matches the person they are interviewing.  Review your journey into medicine, which is likely a major part of your personal statement, and see how it addresses these questions.

A good predictor of future altruism is past altruism. Do your volunteer activities reveal a commitment to medicine or the underserved; if so emphasize this to the interviewer.  If you have a journal reflecting what you learned while volunteering, review it and think how what you learned demonstrates empathy and knowledge of health care fields.  Schools often want cultural competence.  If you have participated in clubs, volunteer activities, or classes that show sensitivity and awareness of diversity, be prepared to discuss it.

            A career in medicine or other health fields requires sacrifice.  You need to convince the interviewer that you have made an informed choice. Volunteer work is certainly a requirement for admission and these experiences communicate an applicant’s commitment and understanding of healthcare.   If you have done community work or traveled abroad for mission trips be prepared to say how those experiences influenced your decision to pursue a career in medicine.

Most applicants will have outside hobbies or extracurricular activities apart from healthcare. Sustained involvement in a few activities that are meaningful to you is more valuable than dabbling.  If you are an award winning violinist or an accomplished track athlete these activities show character traits that will make you a better doctor. You will certainly be asked about these activities and this should be an easy part of the interview.   Sometimes applicants fail to mention how they also worked through college and held leadership positions.  Think about how you have demonstrated leadership during college and be prepared to discuss it.  Provide examples that involve teamwork as well as organizational leadership. If you are early in the pre-health process starting a club in an area of interest is a great way to demonstrate leadership ability to the admissions committee.

Remember this is a job interview.  Before any job interview you research the company and the position you are applying for.  Your answers to their questions or your questions for them should reveal that you have already done this research and that you are enthusiastic about this particular institution.  Be as specific as possible about why you want to study there.    Answers could include, ”I would love to come here because your students seem so smart and supportive of each other.  There is so much opportunity for growth here and a great alumni network is important to me.”    The questions you ask about the school should reveal the fact that you have already done this research and that you are enthusiastic about this institution.

This is a job interview and knowledge based questions, such as health policy questions, are not the most frequent question; however if you are asked something you do not know, be honest and answer, ”I don't know.” If you make an error during an answer and realize it, admit the error and correct it.  It is ok to pause and reflect before answering a complex question. It is ok to ask for clarification.

During the interview, remember body language matters. Do sit on the edge of your seat because this shows engagement.  Don't check your watch as this implies you are bored.  Don't fidget but do film yourself talking which may show you annoying habits you didn't know you had.   If habits you identify on film bother you, they will bother the interviewer.

Common questions at the interview include, ”where do you see yourself in 10 years?” It is important to be humble and open to alternatives.  If you think you are interested in a particular specialty or practice setting say, ”I’m considering XXXXX but keeping an open mind.”  In medical school you will learn more about various fields and your preferences will likely change as you get more information. Do not appear close-minded.

Most of us have struggled at some time in life and you may be asked about your struggles and difficulties.  Students who have learned from failures often bring more maturity and honest self-awareness than those who have never experienced such challenges.  When answering a struggle question remember to stay positive.  Don't say I hate bench research say, ”bench research is not my gift but through the experience I learned about how much we don’t know and I was inspired to do clinical research.”  Don't say my rural high school was awful and made it difficult to keep up with my classmates. Say,“ I have learned so much here at XYZ College and have grown so much.  The opportunities presented to me have empowered me to overcome obstacles and achieve success.”  Great words to incorporate into any answer are: created, achieved, grown, improved, resolved, mentored, and empowered.

So what would you do if you couldn't become a physician? Common acceptable answers include related health fields.  My answer would be I would get a doctorate in bioinformatics; this field combines my love of technology with genetics and biology and has a huge potential for improving both health care.  See informatics blog post for further information about this exciting field https://prehealthguy.blogspot.com/2018/02/clinical-informatics-and-bioinformatics.html.

So how do you handle ethical dilemma questions? An interviewing expert says,

“it is not so important what your stand on an issue is as long as you can discuss it intelligently and articulately.” (Interviewing for Health Professions Schools. National Association of Advisors for the Health Professions, p.10)

That said I would not voluntarily raise hot button issues.  I would much rather discuss my extracurricular pursuit of perfection as a concert violinist. However, if asked I would be honest and demonstrate that I react well to pressure situations. If they challenge your answer to an ethical controversy, they may be testing you like they will during Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI). Stick to your guns and it will be okay, although as with other MMI questions it may be an uncomfortable moment.   Sometimes in life and MMI situations or ethical questions, there is no completely right answer. A complete discussion of MMI is a topic for another day.  Thanks for your question and I hope this helps you SH.

Sincerely,

Dr. Dale

           

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