Med School Interview Help

[Contingency Plan]

Got an interview next Tuesday for med school (University College London.) Any advice from physicians/med students would be most appreciated!

 

[deadly7]

Not knowing what you're looking for, I offer this:

Sound smart.

 

[Prada_Ferragamo]

Not sure how your interview process is since each school is different.

 

[Contingency Plan]

They told me it won't be an academic test, so I guess they're looking for perceptive analysis of the NHS *sigh*

 

[fareau]

Originally Posted by Contingency Plan

Got an interview next Tuesday for med school (University College London.) Any advice from physicians/med students would be most appreciated!

1) I would recommend that you have a prepared answer to the usual ice-breaker, "tell us a little about yourself". It seems like the simplest question, but it often confounds people.
2) I would be prepared to answer the question, "why do you want to study medicine" or "what is it about medicine that interests you"; try to avoid the usual "I want to help people" response, which sounds rather trite when you've heard it a 1000 times before.
3) Be able to list at least three or four personal qualities that you think will make you an effective doctor.
4) You may be asked what experience or exposure you have had to the medical profession. This is usually to get a sense of how informed your career choice might be. You are in the UK and I will assume that you are coming out of secondary school (correct?), so they may not expect that you have done volunteer work or some similar activity.
5) It might be nice to prepare for questions like, "is there an area of medicine that interests you?" or "where do you see yourself in 10 years?" or "do you have any ideas or plans for what you want to do after graduation?". Some times if you have a more structured long-term plan, it conveys a maturity and depth of thought about why you are choosing this field and what you hope to achieve.

These are non-academic questions that are often asked. If you can answer these honestly (and don't sound scripted!), you should fare well. Hope this is helpful and good luck!!

 

[watchcollector2454]

i interviewed at 3 universities in the uk for med school and their academic questions had little to do with the nhs and more to do with the basic sciences. for one i was given two scientific papers and asked to interpret data. for the second i was given a question about ion channels with graphs and told to explain what the graphs meant. and for the third the interviewers asked me to discuss transplant rejection.

are you applying for graduate entry by any chance?

 

[Contingency Plan]

Thanks for the tips fareau; and I've applied for undergrad entry. Interview tomorrow

 

[Contingency Plan]

Got in

(hide yo kids)

 

[gettoasty]

Congrats!

 

[darnelled]

Say goodbye to life for a few years, then reap the rewards of the investment you've made.

Don't worry too much about the debts you'll build as I took a job in an underserved area and got it all paid of by the NHSC . There are plenty of simialr options.

 

[fareau]

Originally Posted by darnelled

Say goodbye to life for a few years, then reap the rewards of the investment you've made.

I might adopt a slightly different tack and suggest that you enjoy these years as much as possible. I actually had some of the best times of my life during medical school. It was a real "burn the candle at both ends" type of existence, with time spent working hard and playing harder. In retrospect, it was the right thing for me to do since I was able to spend my post-graduate years with a more ernest focus on my career.

It is obviously very important that you digest the large volume of didactic information that you will be taught over the next several years. But with regard to bed side manner, you will learn more spending an evening sitting on a bar-stool and talking to a complete stranger than you will ever learn in a classroom. Get out there, live it up, and explore life. You will gain humility, refine your sense of humor, and gather a sense of proportion, all of which will give you the perspective that you need to take care of the sick and infirm. Trust me, you can't learn it from a book and it won't be reliably taught in the classroom. Just make sure that you also keep up with your classes!!

Congratulations on getting into med school.

 

[hopkins_student]

Originally Posted by fareau

I might adopt a slightly different tack and suggest that you enjoy these years as much as possible. I actually had some of the best times of my life during medical school. It was a real "burn the candle at both ends" type of existence, with time spent working hard and playing harder. In retrospect, it was the right thing for me to do since I was able to spend my post-graduate years with a more ernest focus on my career.

It is obviously very important that you digest the large volume of didactic information that you will be taught over the next several years. But with regard to bed side manner, you will learn more spending an evening sitting on a bar-stool and talking to a complete stranger than you will ever learn in a classroom. Get out there, live it up, and explore life. You will gain humility, refine your sense of humor, and gather a sense of proportion, all of which will give you the perspective that you need to take care of the sick and infirm. Trust me, you can't learn it from a book and it won't be reliably taught in the classroom. Just make sure that you also keep up with your classes!!

Congratulations on getting into med school.
I couldn't agree more.

 

[dragon8]

Originally Posted by Contingency Plan

Got in

(hide yo kids)

Congrats on getting in to medical school!

 

[Contingency Plan]

Thanks for the advice guys, I really can't wait to start this fall, let alone start treating patients