co_b Posted March 2, 2007 Report Share Posted March 2, 2007 Hi, I received an invite for an interview at McGill... pretty nerve-wracking.... I was just wondering, for those who've had interview experiences at McGill... could you describe how the day goes? I noticed that they don't give you the time you are interviewed until you register the DAY of... is that true? I have an afternoon interview... but i dunno when the exact times of the interviews. And what's the activities session? And approximately how many students are interviewed per day? Thanks for all the help! Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LABMONKEY Posted March 2, 2007 Report Share Posted March 2, 2007 Last year the IP interviews were super lax, they were a one on one and it was an open file interview- they had access to everything I put in there including my CV. Alot of the questions stemmed around my autobio letter and then they branched out from there since they wanted a little further elaboration on a few points I made. It seemed much more like a conversation since they wanted you to be as relaxed as possible. As far as other questions went, I wasn't asked anything with reagards to ethical issues, but then again both of my interviewers seemed to be scientists vs. clinicians. And they both asked the same last question; "what was the last book you read?" and then I got my chance to ask them a couple things. Needless to say I wouldn't get that worked up about it, make sure you know everything you put in your autobio letter, be ready to expand on that, along with the usual "why do you want to be a doctor" type of stuff. Get a good nights sleep the day before and try to be as relaxed and comfortable as you can. Congrats on getting an interview and good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miss_sunshine Posted March 2, 2007 Report Share Posted March 2, 2007 I agree with everything LABMONKEY said above. It was a really relaxed interview. I was REALLY stressing out about it and it turned out to be a good experience. I had two clinicians interview me and I didn't get asked ethical questions. All my questions really stemmed from my auto biographical letter + a few quick current events related questions (what do you think about X? What would you do concerning X? and so on). LABMONKEY's suggestion about getting a good nights sleep is really important because you really want to be relaxed and at ease during the interview and not tired and yawning every 30 seconds. As for the interview day, you check in at the admissions office where you are given a name tag and then brought down to the Dean's conference room where there are tables and food and refreshments (lunch in your case because you are in the afternoon). There are brochures about the school on the table to read although there are lots of fellow interviewees to talk to. Dr Pickering, who is the associate dean, gave a quick presentation about the curriculum and Michel Dansereau would occasionally stop by and answer questions. Every 15 min or so, interviewers come in to take whoever they are supposed to interview to a room on the 6th floor. The actual interview time really varies, anywhere from 20 min to 1 hour. Don't worry if yours takes 20 min while someone elses takes 1 hour, the time doesnt meananything because different interviewers have different interview styles. ONce both your interviews are done, you can sit around and ask more questions or you can leave and go celebrate! That's strange that no times were given for your interviews (last year they gave us the times of both our interviews as well as the check in time). It didn't make much difference because it seemed that they weren't really following that strict a schedule anyways. In terms of activities, last year we didnt have any (the day I interviewd on, there werent even any students to talk to) but the 2010 class is trying to organize some activities for this years candidates. Dont stress out and don't forget to post how your interviews went! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
co_b Posted March 2, 2007 Author Report Share Posted March 2, 2007 Thanks so much for the reply Labmonkey and miss_sunshine. I'm glad it was a 'lax'-type environment, hopefully it's still like that =) AND I hope to meet you if I get in! Just one question, how important are current events in the interviews... are they very specific in their questions? What did you guys do to prepare for those type of questions? THANKS!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miss_sunshine Posted March 2, 2007 Report Share Posted March 2, 2007 they aren't asking those types of questions to quiz you on your detailed knowledge of current affairs. Rather, they are asking them to see if you are knowledgable about what is happening around you (and that you don't spend 24/7 studying in the library and not caring about what is happening outside the walls of the library). Physicians can't only focus on basic science in medicine because they need to know what is happening in politics, healthcare and even current affairs so that they can be advocates for their patients and the healthcare system. Therefore, when an interviewer is asking you about current affairs, they dont want you to spit out an answer as if it were an exam but they want you to give your opinion in a manner that shows that you were able to intelligently think about the issue and form an opinion about it and express that opinion well... It's also just as important to admit when you don't know something. For example, if you are asked about a particular event X happening in location Y and you honestly don't know about it, then say that you don't know about it and ask your interviewer if they could tell you about it. You won't be faulted for this (unless it is a MAJOR current event or something really MAJOR in healthcare). you can't be faulted for not knowning EVERYTHING because in medicine, there is no way you can know everything and often you need to admit this and ask for help/look something up. Just remember that the best physicians are those that have interests outside of medicine and are well rounded people. If you can demonstrate that you possess these qualities, as well show that you are compassionate and honest, during your interview then you will be accepted. and remember that they obviously saw something that they liked about you in your letter/cv so keep that in mind during your interview. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LABMONKEY Posted March 5, 2007 Report Share Posted March 5, 2007 I think the main point of the current events questions is, as miss_sunshine pointed out, to see if you are aware of the real world around you and to make sure that it extends beyond stacks of library books and lecture notes. As far as preparing for it I am a bit of a news junkie so I wasn't too concerned, I constantly peruse the CBC webiste and read TIME/Macleans/globe and mail on a weekly/daily basis. Also consider that there is an ongoing election in Quebec, they might ask you about your opinion on an election related issue, or they might avoid it altogether. The other major point that you should consider is presenting yourself as a well rounded individual. So during your interview you will want to show them that you have interests outside of medicine alone, and this seems to have a way of coming up as the interview progresses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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