Medical School Interviews

Analysis of 150 questions on ISC Medical website

Gives advice on medical interviews  Minimum of 20 hours preparation  Substantiate and personalise: use evidence and personal experience  Choose clear examples and focus on them  Keep to the point  Don’t volunteer negative information  Conclude your answer briefly  No-one liners and long enough to be interesting  No more than two minutes for most questions  Choose and prepare examples before the interview

Suggests range of techniques for answering questions: 4 Rs For questions such as: How would you deal with stress or a difficult person? This is looking at your general approach to the problem. R recognise the situation R recruit information about the situation R resolve the situation R reflect on the situation

Star technique This is used for questions which ask you to give examples: Could you talk about a stressful situation that arose in your work experience? Situation or Task: Describe the situation or task Action: What you did and how you did it. Why you did it Be personal, go into detail, don’t get technical Result: What happened. Describe what you accomplished

Prepare well thought through personal examples which demonstrate:  The ability to take initiative  Effective teams skills  Leadership skills  Effective leadership skills  Caring attitude  Ability to be sensitive  Ethical issues which arose on placements  Ability to seek help when needed

Links for lists of medical interview questions ISC Medical : medical-school-interviews.aspx Imperial College: te/medicine/admissions/interviews/ Medschoolsonline: WAMS: ticequestions

Podcast on Oxford website

Student Room: What should you expect at a medical school interview