For those of you with upcoming interviews @ Memorial.

[Guest Douje Dog]

Hey everyone, I had my interview this past Friday, and figured I'd pass on the format, the questions, etc., for all those of you who have upcoming interviews at Memorial. I realize that the questions may differ in some ways, but from the people I talked to who have already had interviews, the questions were almost always the same, maybe worded in a different way. As well, some things that I told them lead into other questions. So be prepared for that as well. Hope this helps all of you, or at least some!!

 

They divide interview into 3 sections: Present, Past, Future.

 

(1) They start with the present and ask about what you are currently taking part in. (2) Then they asked me to tell them about a work situation where I had to work with someone who was difficult to work with. (Why this person was difficult to work with, and how I went about solving the situation). (3) After this they asked me to tell them about a fulfilling experience that I took part in recently. (Why was it fulfilling, in what ways did it affect you/why, what did you get out of it, etc.) (4) Next was the "So, why do you want to go to Med School, when did you arrive at your decision to enter Med School." (5) Then, "What are the qualities evident in a good doctor?" Keep in mind that you also want to give examples that show you have these qualities (from either academic, extra-curricular or personal situations). (6) What separates you from the others that are applying/Why choose you over others? (7) What would you bring to your class/Why?

 

- I think that covers most of the questions for the present, give or take a few ..obviously. But, no surprises!

 

Next, the Past. (1) "Tell us about your upbringing/childhood." I told them all the things I took part in as a child, as well as my family and what I've learned from them. (2) Then they asked me a question about an one of the experiences I told them about. (ie. Did being part of an international award-winning choir, that traveled around the world make you feel pressured. How did you deal with it?) Use this however you feel necessary, obviously they won't ask the exact same question, but be ready to answer a question of the sort. (3) Then they asked me to explain how I had matured as an individual since I was 15 years old. In what ways (ie. my personality) and why, how has my outlook on life changed/why. This was a bit of a tricky one, which I didn't expect. Maybe you won't get a question like this, but you never know! Be prepared haha.

 

Last, the Future. (1) The obvious: where do you see yourself in 10 years? (2) What do you think the day to day challenges or being a doctor will be/of being a Medical Student? (3) Then they asked about current health care issues, and what I think they are. They asked me if I was the provincial/federal health minister, what changes would I make? (4) What will be the health care issues 10 years down the road? (5) This led smoothly into a question about Rural Medicine, what are the problems with rural medicine, and what can be done to solve this problem. (6) Then, a question about non-medical world issues, what I thought they are/what they will be in 10 years. (7) Then they asked me to describe an ethical situation that I think I may have to deal with as a doctor, and explain how I would go about solving this situation? (8) Last, they asked if there was a particular field of medicine I had an interest in, and why was that.

 

I'm pretty sure that's the majority of it. If I missed anything, sorry, but hopefully this will help some of you! As I said before, there could be some different questions than the ones I have mentioned here, and that your answers may lead into different questions, but I think for the most part, it will be very similar. Hope this helps any of you with upcoming interviews, and best of luck! The interviews are very relaxing, and easy going.

 

Relax, and I'm sure you'll be awesome!

[Guest stevetilley]

Sounds alot like my interview last year... I guess it hasn't changed a whole lot.

 

It's a rare thing for premeds to share this type of information. Some applicants, if not most, don't want to give their "competition" an advantage for the interview. It's good to see that you've looked beyond this, such benevolence is needed in medicine. Best of luck w/ admission.

[Guest Ian Wong]

Ditto. Thanks for sharing for experiences! Contributions like yours are what make these forums worth visiting.

 

Ian

[Guest walkorbike]

hi Douje Dog, sounds like you are winning raves for your altruism in posting and it also sounds like you had a great interview. Your notes will be extremely helpful. Take care and good luck!

[Guest mydream88]

Thank you very much for sharing Douje Dog and GOOOOOD LUCK

 

mydream88

[Guest Ticket]

I also had my interview last Friday. It was the same formate as Douje Dog's. My interviewers made me feel very comfortable, and they were very interested in what I had to say.

 

It really was nothing to worry about. (I know that's much easier to say from this side of things!) As my interviewer said, the hard part was sitting in the waiting room!

 

Good luck.

[Guest nextstopmd]

I had an interview at Memorial last year, and as far as I can remember, I got asked pretty much exactly the same questions as Douje Dog. Thanks very much for refreshing my memory. It's all coming back to me now...

[Guest walkorbike]

good luck everybody!

[Guest climberchick]

one extra question that I was asked goes along the same lines of the rural medicine question stated above, however it was asked from a slightly different slant. Instead what are the problems with rural medicine, they asked me, " as a rural doctor what do you think your biggest challenge would be and how would you go about dealing with it? " Like I said, similar to above, but with a slightly different slant, be prepared to answer questions from all angles. My interview was a great experience, my interviewers really made me feel at ease. To pass on some advice, the first thing one of my interviewers said to me was that he wasn't looking for researched answers, that's not what the interview is all about, they want to get to know you, so be your self. Good Luck!

[Guest walkorbike]

Hi, climberchick, thanks for posting what you were asked. That's great that your interview went well...Mine is in one week and I am packed already.

 

Best of luck!

[Guest d77mah]

that was the best interview i ever did....

[Guest climberchick]

Good Luck Walkorbike! The interviewers at MUN are great, they really make you feel at ease. And don't be nervous, you'll do great!

[Guest climberchick]

Oh, and by the way, I found the Romanow report very helpfull, especially the section on remote and rural medicine, you may want to have a look at it before your interview. It's available on the net at Health Canada.

[Guest walkorbike]

hello, climberchick,

 

thank you for the tip and for the luck.

 

d77mah, it's good to hear that you enjoyed your interview also.

walkorbike

[Guest MDSMelissa]

Hi,

 

I just had my interview. The questions were almost identical to Douje Dog's. (thanks for posting them!!!) I don't feel that I impressed my interviewers at all though. They didn't seem very receptive to my answers. One of the questions (the one about my strengths), they asked me to present "an argument" that would describe my strengths. That really threw me off. I felt like I was writing an essay :x ! oh, well. Thank goodness that the impression of the interview is not correlated with acceptance!

 

Melissa

[Guest nextstopmd]

I agree with MDSMelissa about the subject of the questions. MUN seems to have quite a structured interview format that the interviewers have to get through, and I think it takes a lot of the spontaneity out of the whole thing. It's not quite as conversational as other interviews I've had. Maybe that's because the interviewers are usually (always?) faculty members?

 

Everyone at MUN was super nice though, and I did feel very welcome there. I'd love to go there in the fall. Ended up spending a little more time there than I thought I would (thanks JetsGo for the 5 hr delay >: ) but it was all worth it in the end. Thanks MDSMelissa for hanging out together, it sure made the wait a lot more fun! :rollin

[Guest walkorbike]

Hi, all,

 

I really liked the family atmosphere at MUN. I liked that we got to meet some of the staff during our tour and their enthusiasm for their med students was touching! Thanks to the organizers for everything.

walkorbike