#medicine interview

[nadiathemedic]

a different post from me today - prep for my medicine interview at leicester! I don’t prepare or memorise answers but made some flashcards on different diseases/things I mentioned in my personal statement, so I could quickly review the science behind them on the journey up there. my dad keeps joking that he wants to sleep, so I have to drive but I really want to use the time to prepare as otherwise it’s just a boring car journey :)

[uniapplicationmayhem]

Exeter Medicine Interview Experience

I had my interview at Exeter on the 22nd of January. While I can't give exact details about the day as the process is meant to be confidential, I wanted to give an overall view of how my day went.

We had decided to go up to Exeter the night before, leaving staight after college college ended on the Tuesday. We stayed at  Jurys Inn, Exeter which was only a 10 minute walk from St Lukes Campus. I think despite living relatively close to Exeter, staying overnight helped take away some of the stress. And as a bonus I got extra time in bed!!!

That morning I was so nervous I couldn't eat a thing. It was my first interview and one of my top choice Unis, so I knew there was a lot riding on that day. 

The time I was told to come to the campus was 9:30 so we decided to walk up a little earlier to have a look around and see what the campus was like.

I had never visited Exeter Uni as it was a last minute decision to add it to my application. The grounds were really nice and it was nearby the main hospitals as well as the accommodation, so ideal for early morning classes and placements. I really liked the position of the campus, it is close enough to the city centre for anything you need but it feels like a small, safe community on the campus. 

In the morning we had a talk by a member of the admissions team and then we were provided with lunch. It was during this time that I really got to know the other applicants. It was lovely to meet people for all over and I found it really calmed my nerves talking to everyone else. Some Uni students caution making friends with the other applicants as they are your competition, but I felt that we were all in the same boat so we might as well support each other. After lunch we all walked to another building to wait for our interview. I had one of the latest interview slots at 4:15pm which worried me slightly. I was scared that sitting in a room waiting for 4 hours would make any anxiety I felt build and build.

Surprisingly the opposite happened. During the hours we were sat waiting we had some really great conversations. We laughed and joked and at times I forgot we were even about to have an interview.  All the other applicants were lovely and we all eased each others anxiety.

One of the people who I had spoken to most was in my MMI group and having her there make the process slightly less nerve wracking. 

People had always told me that the time went so quick during the interview and I didn't believe them until I experience it myself. I used the 3 minutes provided for all of the questions and I found myself running out of time at points. Thankfully I found myself able to answer all questions and came out of the interview feeling happy. 

For me the medicine interview was a far better experience than I could have imagined. All the staff put us at ease and make the process far more comfortable than expected. I walked out of the interview knowing that whatever happened I had had a really great day and it was a valuable experience.

[studylizziee]

13.11.18 // update - I know I haven’t been as active recently, and that’s just because uni is really really busy! But I wanted to say that I know med interviews are coming up soon, so if anyone has any questions please do send me an ask - or I could even write a post with my tips. Hope everyone’s doing well ✨

[medicineblr]

Medicine Interview tips (NZ)

Hi guys! Since I get quite a few questions on this I thought I might just make a massive post on how I prepared for the MMI + resources that helped me. :) x

First of all if you don’t know what the Multiple Mini Interview (MMI) is, I suggest reading this. The qualities they assess you on include the following:

Awareness of health issues

Career motivation

Communication

Conflict resolution

Creativity

Critical thinking

Cultural safety

Empathy

Ethical/moral reasoning

Quality of argument

Self-awareness

Self-care

Social responsibility

Teamwork

This MMI booklet helped me a lot in structuring how I would prepare for this interview. The booklet also has some good questions so I suggest you trying to form groups with your friends and practice! I basically divided my preparation into the following parts:

Personal bank

Having a personal bank of experiences in your mind will really help you in the interview since quite a few personal questions tend to pop up. Here are some questions/prompts you may want to consider:

Your strengths and when did you demonstrate them

Your weaknesses and how you account for them

How do you relieve stress?

What do you do for self-care?

What are some experiences that changed your outlook on life?

What makes a good leader / team member?

What are key qualities you think a health professional should have?

Why do you want to be a doctor?

Your role models and people you admire

Your goals, things that motivate you, etc

Experiences where you made a mistake and learnt from it

NZ Health system & NZ Health Issues

Being aware of NZ health issues and the health system is a key part of the interview. 

Being my nerd self, I prepared for this by reading lots of articles online and typing up some notes. I don’t suggest going overboard with this, I only wrote down information that I think is super crucial; don’t go learning numbers/statistics, etc. They don’t expect you to learn the exact laws/policies behind each one of them either; the key thing is to have a general idea of each of these issues and have a general opinion on them. 

It’s good to have a general opinion on the following issues and have reasons why (and acknowledge the opposing argument to your opinion, and why people may have this opinion):

Euthanasia

Abortion

Cannabis

Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Animal testing

Sugar tax

Vaping as an alternative to smoking

... etc

It’s important to be respectful when you get asked about the opposing argument to yours; as the Sample MMI scenarios document says, “Remember that you are not being judged on the “rightness” or “wrongness” of your answer. You and the interviewer will each have a personal point of view shaped by education, social conscience and personal experience... It is quite likely that you and the interviewer will perceive the issue differently but it is not where you stand that you are being scored, it is the way you discuss the topic and form your opinion. If, as the interview progresses, you find yourself changing your mind then don’t be afraid to say so. By the end you will have had eight minutes to think about the issue, not just two, and being prepared to shift your position shows that you are open to change and have gained something from the conversation. Any interviewer will view this positively.”

Finally, I also did some reading on NZ health issues and thought of some strategies to combat them:

Rural health crisis

Binge drinking

Maori health disparities

Poverty, Child Poverty, Homelessness, Inequality

Rheumatic fever

Housing crisis

Smoking

Obesity

... etc

Some resources:

NZ health system: 1, 2, 3, 4

NZ health issues: Wikipedia is a really good resource! (just search up e.g. “Obesity in New Zealand”)

Cultural Competence

The MMI booklet has a good section on this. As the booklet states, some key things to read up on are:

Māori health outcomes

The Treaty of Waitangi

Rongoā (Traditional Māori medicine)

MAPAS admission scheme

Health interventions targeting Māori/Pasifika groups

Resources:

Reid et al. (2017) Achieving health equity in Aotearoa: strengthening responsiveness to Māori in health research

Durie (1989) The Treaty of Waitangi and health care

Other tips

Compile a bunch of practice questions and practice with a group of friends! I personally found it really helpful to get feedback from other people. This is particularly helpful for the acting station.

Know your reasons for why you want to be a doctor - simply saying that you want to help people may not be enough; since other health professionals like nurses, etc do the exact same thing. Really think of why you want to be a doctor.

Don’t memorise answers since interviewers generally pick that up; just relax, go in and be yourself.

Relax before the interview!! Don’t go reading your notes before the interview since that will probably just stress you out. Play your favourite game the night before, light a candle, have a relaxing bath, drink your favourite drink before the interview! Motivate yourself!!

You can find acting station tips on the MMI booklet

Be careful when going to those free MMI workshops and take their advice with a grain of salt; I remember going to one in first year where they told me that it is important to stand firm when expressing your opinion because interviewers like to see that you don’t get easily swayed (which is completely untrue)

aucklandmed may run a free mock MMI, so watch out for that!

Read the Sample MMI scenarios put up by the university!

Here’s a really helpful youtube playlist.

MMI question bank

If you have any questions feel free to drop an ask. Good luck!! x

[studylizziee]

Hey I have a medicine interview for Birmingham on Thursday any tips x

Hello! I have a post here with my tips for preparing for a med interview, and these are some tips for the couple of days leading up to the interview.

At this point I would focus on going over your personal statement and researching the uni, as well as anything you have identified as being your weak point.

Most of all, try to be confident without coming across as arrogant, and sound enthusiastic about both medicine and the uni. Wishing you the best of luck! X

[studylizziee]

how did your interviews go?? can you give some tips for exeter and uea?? Best of luck to you!! 💕💕💕xxx

Hi! I find it really hard to tell how they went - I’m mostly just trying to keep my mind off it and focus on my A Levels until I hear back :)

I’ll probably do a more detailed post on my interview experiences and my tips after I’ve heard back from all my unis, but for now:

Exeter

it was an MMI and the stations were really short - I only had 3 mins with each interviewer, so it was hard to give a good first impression each time

on the other hand, there was 3 mins prep time in between each station so there was lots of time to think through what I wanted to say and the examples I wanted to use

be prepared to talk about all the usual stuff that comes up in MMIs - ethics, current affairs / the NHS, the uni and course etc

don’t be put off by the interviewers - some are really friendly and there were 1 or 2 mean ones, but just focus on what you want to say

you get a tour of the campus as well (St Luke’s) which was a really nice touch

even if your slot is much later, you have to be there for the briefing at 8.30am so make sure you can get there in time. I stayed the night before at the Jurys Inn which is like a 5 min walk from campus so I recommend staying there if you live far away

in the briefing they tell you loads about the interview and what each of the stations are, so again it gives you an opportunity to start thinking about what you want to talk about

they also ask you to bring in a load of paperwork in case you get an offer, and I recommend taking it so if you get in you don’t have to go to Exeter again to take it all

UEA

this was another MMI, but the stations were much longer - I think they were 5 mins and there was 1.5 mins prep time

again, be ready to talk about all the usual stuff

make sure you really understand their course and why you want to do it e.g. they are a PBL uni so it’s important to understand what it involves

don’t forget to bring the work experience form that they send you beforehand - there’s a whole station on it so be ready to expand on your points and talk about what you learned

most of the interviewers were really friendly but there were 1 or 2 strange ones - don’t be put off by them, just try to speak fluently through your answers and try not to get flustered

there are some current students when you’re in the waiting area, and they also take you to where the interview is. They were really friendly so chat to them if you have the chance! It’s always a good idea to get a student’s perspective

again, there’s lots of paperwork to bring so maybe make a checklist to ensure you bring all the right stuff

Generally, make sure to dress smart, BRING YOUR ID (driving license or passport are usually good) as they will check it, and smile! It will make you feel more confident and it always leaves a good impression :) Good luck! X

[medscorecouk]

Medical School Interview S

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[hopeful-med]

What’s the UK Medicine training pathway like?

This is a question you might get at interview to demonstrate your awareness of the profession. It’s also to know if you’re still deciding whether you want to be a doctor or not.

How long do you spend at med school?

This depends; it can be between four and seven years. Graduate medicine (i.e. you’ve done a degree like biomed first) is four years, undergraduate medicine (i.e. you’re going straight from school at eighteen) is five years. Some schools offer a widening access to medicine scheme, which adds a year zero, so will be six years total. Each of these can give you the option of doing an intercalated degree, which adds a year to your time in med school. For example, someone doing undergraduate medicine might do six years because they intercalate and come out with two degrees.

What is an intercalated degree?

An intercalated degree is an extra degree you gain in a year. Different unis offer different degrees. For example, UEA primarily offers science qualifications, so you can come away with a medical degree and a BSc. Others, like Leeds, offer science and arts degrees as well as Master’s degrees, so you could add an MA to your medical degree.

What happens after med school?

Obviously, you can choose not to be a doctor at this point. You could do an MD (Doctor of Medicine) or do a law conversion course (say, do medical law for insurance firms). Or, you could change track completely. But if you do stick with becoming a doctor, the process goes like this:

You have two foundation years: F1 and F2. This is the first time you’ll be paid a salary. You’ll move around different specialties, combining work experience with training. One third of the way through F2 you will be asked to make a choice about which specialty training you want to do.

Then you begin specialty training. It takes three years from this point to train as a GP, and five to eight years for other specialties. You can find information on other specialties here:

https://www.healthcareers.nhs.uk/explore-roles/doctors/roles-doctors