Today, I'm covering what every premed should know before their medical school interview! This is a recording from a talk I did in Austin, TX, all about the interview. If you find this advice valuable, you can check out my med school interview book for more guidance:
In this talk, I cover a bunch of topics relating to the interview, including:
• The medical school interview is like a dance. One person leads, and the other follows. The interviewer asks a question, and you answer it. But a lot of students step on the interviewer's feet because they come in with an agenda of showing off why they're going to make a good physician.
• To tell your story, you need to identify your "seed"—that initial experience that got you exposed to medicine.
• The different kinds of med school interviews: open interviews, closed interviews, the multiple mini interview (MMI), etc.
• Students who do poorly in the MMI, and the interview in general, are coming in trying to prove something. Really, the medical schools want to see if you're going to be a good member of the class. They want to see your personality, and they want to see how you'll work with others.
• When going through your personal statement and your interview answers, you need to look at each sentence and ask, is this generic? Or is this telling MY story?
• Why you should be journaling after ALL your experiences on the premed path.
• How to talk about your strengths and weaknesses: None of us are perfect. But can you explain what you're doing to work on your weaknesses? Can you tell a story that supports/illustrates it? Why stories help so much.
• What are good questions to ask the interviewer? I mention a few specific kinds of questions NOT to ask your interviewer, along with my favorite tip for what ones TO ask. (Here's one of my favorites: "What do you think is a cool part of this school that doesn't get a lot of attention?")
• How personal should you get in the interview? I cover this question from a few angles, such as talking about mental health issues and tragic events from your past that could make you emotional during the interview.
• What should you get from mock interviews? You should be paying attention to how nervous you are and how that's affecting your body language, mannerisms, etc. It will hopefully get you a little more comfortable.
• What if you don't know how to answer a question? It's okay to say you don't know. But what you don't want to do is fake it. Doctors shouldn't fake that they know something when they don't. Also, be aware that it's okay to share your personal opinions on questions.
• What counts as clinical experience? It's not about the job title—it's about whether you're interacting with patients in a way that's even slightly clinical. Just gathering information from patients at the front desk is not clinical. And working as a janitor in the hospital is not clinical either. Use your common sense.
• How should you prepare for the interview? First, be wary of OVER-preparing. You don't want to become scripted. Think of bullet points—not a script. Remember it's a conversation, not a monologue.
• Can shadowing count as clinical experience? In its pure form, shadowing is not clinical experience, as it is very passive. However, if you do a lot of shadowing where the doctor lets you interact with patients, take vitals, etc, then it can also be listed as clinical experience.
• Should you send thank you notes after the interview? Usually, yes. It's courteous. It's another contact point. Mention a specific conversation you had so they may remember you better. But if the school says NOT to send them, then don't! Follow directions!
• If you're a nontraditional student explaining your career change to medicine, remember the question is not "Why NOT your old career?" It is "Why do you want to be a doctor?" So focus on what's pulling you toward medicine—not what's pushing you away from your previous career.
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