Interview advice

[*Pixie*]

I think the interview is about 75% luck. Last year I was flat out rejected, got a crap score on my MMI and I thought it was the strongest part of my application. This year I changed nothing, I didn't practice, didn't read any extra books, no prep course, nothing. Went in with the exact same attitude, smiled, had fun, made jokes, thanked the interviewer. the only thing that was different was that this year I was clean shaven and last year I had a goat. I even wore the same suit and tie. I didn't let last years set back hit my confidence level which I think is very important.

 

As for specific advice, I would say read CNN/BBC/Al Jazera for at least 10 minutes a day, everyday, make a habbit of it. Take a basic intro philosophy course or critical thinking course. Travel somewhere out of your element and get lost, end up in some pub in the middle of nowhere in a country where you don't speak the language and blend in. Do some things that you have never done that you think are stupid just to see the other side of it. Learn to ride a motorcycle, go bungee jumping, do something crazy just for the experience. Above all else hang in there, a year goes by so fast and you are going to make it if you want too.

 

 

I like your advice. It makes sense - when you are thrown into a situation you have never experienced before, you learn to expand your boundaries. That is what I need. I think I turned into a pragmatic lab rat over my MSc. Gotta turn into a kid again this year haha:p Thanks, man.

[Trying2bMD]

I agree with the luck/subjectivity component of the interview. I personally have a tremendous amount of public speaking experience...have been guest speaker at larger events etc...so my ability to talk in front of people I don't know and stay calm is fairly easy. I also have taken philosophy/ethics courses in university (and did well), write a health blog and do a lot of writing for work. Yet on my interview I did not do as well as I thought and my MMI essay was low.

 

My jobs and volunteer, past and current, requires me to keep on top of current events (e.g. homelessness and cancer research...did the latter for AHS for nearly 3 years) so I felt confident for any scenario that I could face. Also I have a wealth of experiences that I think prepares me well for medicine. I think this was highlighted by the fact I got 22/25 for my activities score.

 

That said perhaps on my interview I just had an off day writing and speaking or my assessors just did not think I answered the questions in a way that would produce a high score. I think getting an interview is hard but has a little more objectivity than the interview itself.

 

I had one assessor who looked like they were falling asleep during my time. How did that affect my score? Not sure but the fact there are ~600 interviews with most being qualified for being a doctor I think some luck and how the assessor feels that day could play a part in overall score...how much is unclear to me though.

[pubert]

I guess it's probably all conjecture at this point, but from my perspective what I thought worked well and didn't work well:

 

- Be honest. Say what you believe while elucidating the merit of the counterpoints.

- Take the "be yourself" idea with a grain of salt. I think most people say it when they actually mean "be honest". We always present different versions of ourselves in different situations. Be honest and do what comes naturally to you.

- Public speaking helped me a lot, but not the type of public speaking where you rehearse what you're going to say over and over so that it becomes a script. Ever been to a presentation and heard a great speaker, only to talk to them afterwards and realize they're boring and probably don't know their arse from a hole in the ground? That's because their great presentation was totally scripted. There is no time for great scripted responses during the MMI, so why practice completely scripted presentations beforehand? Get yourself into situations where you know a few key talking points really well and can talk about them on the fly. Responding to questions and interacting with an audience was the best way for me to do this.

- Business people are more ruthless with feedback than academics or your peers, so if you can get some opportunities to present to them, do it! I received a lot of constructive criticism (borderline abuse) from management-type people. No point asking people for their opinion of your presentation/conversation skills if they're going to water it down for you.

- Hypothetically speaking, if you see a picture with an Alien or Arnold Schwarzenegger, don't try and relate them to something medical. Just say that you see an Alien or Arnold and talk about why you would see an Alien or Arnold together!

 

Easy things to do without much thought or effort:

-Knock on the door

-Smile at your interviewer and maintain eye-contact

-Introduce yourself and shake their hand (no limp wristing it, SERIOUSLY!)

-Respond with THEIR NAME after introductions ("Nice to meet you Pubert")

-Give a quick overview of the scenario which shows them you understand and gives you added time to compose yourself and HEAR the scenario

-Give your spiel

-Thank them BY NAME and shake their hand AGAIN

[MicroMo]

From the sounds of things there are a lot of people on here who got rejected that feel like I did.

I felt that after the interview I did well in smiling, speaking clearly and making eye contact. I also have a lot of background in public speaking, teaching, etc so I was not expecting such a low Verbal MMI score. For myself I felt that the length and detail of the prompts threw me off. By the time I was done reading the alarm bell went off and I had to go into the room. Often times I would pause and read the prompt while I was in there to make sure I didn't miss anything in my discussions. I think this *may* have been why my scores were lower.

Anyways, it is comforting to know that I am not alone in this post-rejection funk.

Pixie, sounds like you and I have a lot in common (MSc, experience, etc) and I would be happy to meet with you over coffee to come up with a game plan for next year. Let me know!

Also, I am in Calgary and ready to work with anyone who wants to nail this MMI and get in. This was my first time interviewing but third time applying. So I am hoping perseverance pays off. That or I am just not getting the message

[*Pixie*]

From the sounds of things there are a lot of people on here who got rejected that feel like I did.

I felt that after the interview I did well in smiling, speaking clearly and making eye contact. I also have a lot of background in public speaking, teaching, etc so I was not expecting such a low Verbal MMI score. For myself I felt that the length and detail of the prompts threw me off. By the time I was done reading the alarm bell went off and I had to go into the room. Often times I would pause and read the prompt while I was in there to make sure I didn't miss anything in my discussions. I think this *may* have been why my scores were lower.

Anyways, it is comforting to know that I am not alone in this post-rejection funk.

Pixie, sounds like you and I have a lot in common (MSc, experience, etc) and I would be happy to meet with you over coffee to come up with a game plan for next year. Let me know!

Also, I am in Calgary and ready to work with anyone who wants to nail this MMI and get in. This was my first time interviewing but third time applying. So I am hoping perseverance pays off. That or I am just not getting the message

 

I'll pm you. yay making friends through premed101!

[arkgirl]

Hi Pixie,

 

I didn't practice alot, but whatever little bit of practice that I did, I can honestly say that helped me was practicing with maturer people. I practiced with a lawyer and a medical school graduate from U of C. I smiled alot in my interview, tried to keep my answers flexible, and accepted the downfalls of my answers when questioned. I even said that there was no right or wrong answer for some of the questions after giving my opinion. This is so redundant, but BE YOURSELF! U of C particularly required no medical knowledge and it was really helpful. I walked out feeling kinda weird about the whole thing, but I guess it went better than I thought (accepted this year).

 

Oh, and just so you know, I've been reading some posts that it is imperative to knock before you enter. U of C was my first interview ever, and I didn't realize the importance to knock until the last station. I thought I was screwed, but you can definitely get in without knocking on the doors!

 

Best of luck next year Pixie!

[MicroMo]

Yay indeed! Looking forward to hearing from you.

[aaronjw]

knocking before going in? lol

 

someone esplain? lol

[Rebencer]

My thoughts on MMI are all over the place now, thought I killed the U of A interview and did ok at U of C.

 

But I definitely did not kill the U of A MMI....

[arkgirl]

My thoughts on MMI are all over the place now, thought I killed the U of A interview and did ok at U of C.

 

But I definitely did not kill the U of A MMI....

 

I thought the same thing! I was accepted off the bat at U of C though. Eh, I guess it depends on what the interviewers thought.

[arkgirl]

knocking before going in? lol

 

someone esplain? lol

 

During the MMI, you have to knock on the door before you enter the room where the interviewer is. It is just common courtesy.

[*Pixie*]

I didn't knock on any doors. Just entered the room when the buzzer went off - I guess that was offensive enough to the interviewers to cost me 20/50 points:p

 

...So for the next round - when you knock on the door do you also have to wait outside until you hear "Come in!"?????

 

To be honest, I would rather think that it was how I answered the questions (like not being flexible enough etc etc) that got me a lower score than some trivial thing like knocking on the door.

[pubert]

I highly doubt it cost you (though I thought I read somewhere that an interviewer was docking points for not knocking...). But if in the slight chance that it does create a more favorable impression of you, it's worth it.

 

Ever noticed that a doctor always knocks on the door before entering? Maybe knocking on the door at the MMI triggers a subconscious association between you and a doctor in the interviewer's mind...or maybe it does nothing at all.

[*Pixie*]

I didn't knock at any station at any school, but I did shake hands with everyone, before and after, if any of that helps.

 

I did shake hands:(

 

I highly doubt it cost you (though I thought I read somewhere that an interviewer was docking points for not knocking...). But if in the slight chance that it does create a more favorable impression of you, it's worth it.

 

Ever noticed that a doctor always knocks on the door before entering? Maybe knocking on the door at the MMI triggers a subconscious association between you and a doctor in the interviewer's mind...or maybe it does nothing at all.

 

Yeah I can see how it could influence certain interviewer's first impression of you...Will be knocking on the door next year (hopefully will get a chance to) FOR SURE.

 

I have a whole year to practice my door knocking ability:D

[bloh]

I think there's a certain amount of experience and luck involved as well. I bombed my first MMI experience (UofC) and then [presumably] raped my interview at UofA.

[meds400]

It is an interesting discussion, and since I was accepted this year, I don’t mind letting people know my own strategy that I perfected with my mother (who is a business professor specializing in Organizational Behavior).

 

I won’t go into a big long thing here, but in my opinion, the MMI is all about identifying STAKEHOLDERS. If you don’t know what that term means, I highly suggest that you look it up, because in reality, if you can identify all the stakeholders (including yourself) in an MMI prompt, you can discuss each one and show that you are capable of “looking at all sides of any scenario.” For Calgary, this was even easier because you were allowed to have a pencil and paper with you, so literally as I read a given prompt, I would only write down the names and people who I thought were stakeholders in the scenario. This helped to organize my thoughts and I was able to address the prompt from the angle of every person it impacted.

 

I really don’t want to go into anymore details then this (mostly because I don’t know how much more I am “allowed” to say), but I might suggest that over the summer, try looking at the prompts U of C publically post and ask yourself who has a “stake” in the scenario and how can everyone’s interests be balanced. Certainly though, I would suggest not to bring in any of your own experiences into the MMI as even Dr. Walker suggested – just focus on the scenario and who “matters”…personally, I think it’s what got me accepted into the program.

 

Good-luck and I hope this helps some of you prepare for next year

[*Pixie*]

It is an interesting discussion, and since I was accepted this year, I don’t mind letting people know my own strategy that I perfected with my mother (who is a business professor specializing in Organizational Behavior).

 

I won’t go into a big long thing here, but in my opinion, the MMI is all about identifying STAKEHOLDERS. If you don’t know what that term means, I highly suggest that you look it up, because in reality, if you can identify all the stakeholders (including yourself) in an MMI prompt, you can discuss each one and show that you are capable of “looking at all sides of any scenario.” For Calgary, this was even easier because you were allowed to have a pencil and paper with you, so literally as I read a given prompt, I would only write down the names and people who I thought were stakeholders in the scenario. This helped to organize my thoughts and I was able to address the prompt from the angle of every person it impacted.

 

I really don’t want to go into anymore details then this (mostly because I don’t know how much more I am “allowed” to say), but I might suggest that over the summer, try looking at the prompts U of C publically post and ask yourself who has a “stake” in the scenario and how can everyone’s interests be balanced. Certainly though, I would suggest not to bring in any of your own experiences into the MMI as even Dr. Walker suggested – just focus on the scenario and who “matters”…personally, I think it’s what got me accepted into the program.

 

Good-luck and I hope this helps some of you prepare for next year

 

 

Yes it definitely helps. Thank you so much for your advice:D

 

Pix

[totes]

Hi guys,

 

Congrats to all of you getting in this year. I was rejected post-interview and since then all I have been thinking of is how to improve for the next year (hopefully I will be granted an interview again).

 

During the interview I felt calm, didn't repeat myslef, had (I thougt) straight forward and logical answers... I was feeling pretty confident that I would be at least wait listed. I got 31/50 on the verbal MMI and its killing me!!! Please, any advice would be greatly appreciated from all of you successful people:D Love,

 

Pix

 

DITTO!! I felt I had done well!

 

My story = first time I got an interview (at U of C, my only one) I was caught completely off guard, and didn't properly prepare. I didn't think it had gone very well: some stations completely stumped me and I didn't really know where I was going with my argument, an answer to a simple ethics question wasn't very articulate, etc. I got a 27.11/50, fair enough.

 

This year, I thought it would be my year. I read every ethics book I could get my hands on. I practiced with my friends that had gotten into med, and talked to several med students about their strategy for interviewing. I went in feeling prepared, and came out feeling like I had done well. May 13th, I get a rejection, and my score is 27.25/50!! WHAT GIVES?

 

... In any case, I'm starting an MPH this year but I will be applying again this year. I hopefully will get another interview and would be happy to practice with Calgarians and Edmontonians to gain (even more) perspectives about this (tiresome, arduous, frustrating!) process!

[totes]

I also wonder if my score could be attributed to being in the 8 am group on Saturday... being in that very first group may have hurt me? That's just speculation though.

[mm88]

I also wonder if my score could be attributed to being in the 8 am group on Saturday... being in that very first group may have hurt me? That's just speculation though.

 

Perhaps, I was in the 8am group Saturday and I was accepted. But if you're referring to not being at your prime because it was so early in the morning, that's a definitely possibility. Not everyone is a morning person, right?

 

As some people may have already mentioned, if you feel confident because you prepared a lot, some of your answers might come across as being too "rehearsed" or false. I talked in an earlier post about letting YOU shine during the interview, but as another member mentioned - be very careful with that. Don't try to puff yourself up or try to squeeze in so much about yourself that the intent of the original prompt is lost. There's nothing wrong with sharing personal experience or using it to illustrate something you're trying to explain when it is applicable.

 

Good luck!

[Mithril]

I took Drysol with me to the interviews I had and gave strong, firm handshakes.

[Zarza]

Drysol yuck!

 

I don't know what to tell you. I left the interview and thought there was no way I would get wait listed. There was a lot of staring at the floor... It felt awful just to sit there, but maybe it was a positive?

 

I didn't talk about medicine at all. Not once. But I did talk about other disciplines a lot. Maybe they liked that?

 

I was in the Sun 8am group, shook hands when I entered but almost always forgot when I left, never knocked, left my pencil in TWO rooms and then gave up with writing all together, and smiled a lot. I made a special effort to pause instead of using a filler words ("um", "like") and took time to think about the extra prompts before I answered them. I talked about all the parties involved and their respective interests. I came to a conclusion but also discussed the limitations of that conclusion [but never complained that I didn't have enough info]. That's what I did. I don't know what parts they noticed, liked or disliked.

[Rebencer]

It is an interesting discussion, and since I was accepted this year, I don’t mind letting people know my own strategy that I perfected with my mother (who is a business professor specializing in Organizational Behavior).

 

I won’t go into a big long thing here, but in my opinion, the MMI is all about identifying STAKEHOLDERS. If you don’t know what that term means, I highly suggest that you look it up, because in reality, if you can identify all the stakeholders (including yourself) in an MMI prompt, you can discuss each one and show that you are capable of “looking at all sides of any scenario.” For Calgary, this was even easier because you were allowed to have a pencil and paper with you, so literally as I read a given prompt, I would only write down the names and people who I thought were stakeholders in the scenario. This helped to organize my thoughts and I was able to address the prompt from the angle of every person it impacted.

 

I really don’t want to go into anymore details then this (mostly because I don’t know how much more I am “allowed” to say), but I might suggest that over the summer, try looking at the prompts U of C publically post and ask yourself who has a “stake” in the scenario and how can everyone’s interests be balanced. Certainly though, I would suggest not to bring in any of your own experiences into the MMI as even Dr. Walker suggested – just focus on the scenario and who “matters”…personally, I think it’s what got me accepted into the program.

 

Good-luck and I hope this helps some of you prepare for next year

 

I brought in personal experience to almost every station, it contextualized how I came to my conclusions and provided them with an insight into who I was rather than just scoring an answer to a question. I have no idea what my score was, but I was accepted outright so it couldn't have really hurt me.

[Erk]

I brought in personal experience to almost every station, it contextualized how I came to my conclusions and provided them with an insight into who I was rather than just scoring an answer to a question. I have no idea what my score was, but I was accepted outright so it couldn't have really hurt me.

 

And to bring in the middle ground, I only brought up personal experience when it was relevant to the discussion, but if I had a personal experience I felt was directly relevant I didn't hesitate to plumb it for full value so I think use of personal experience one way or another is probably not a factor as long as your interview is smooth, confident, and natural.

[Erk]

I keep hearing a lot of people saying they were thrown off by the written MMI prompt, especially a lot of people on the waitlist. I'm gonna give some unsolicited advice on it as best I can without making specific reference to the prompt.

 

Something I think the MMI overall was intended to test was our ability to react to unexpected scenarios. The written portion was no exception, and was in many ways totally exemplary of this principle.

 

When faced with an unfamiliar topic on which you feel you know nothing about, I think it's important to remember two things.

1) everyone else is in the same boat, and

2) you are very smart.

 

To do well with the unexpected, you have to maintain confidence. This isn't your field, sure, but if you can capture your intelligence on the page it doesn't matter how much you know. You're not here to prove your knowledge about [redacted], you're here to prove your ability to handle situations.

 

As with any writing assignment, the best tactic is to very quickly prepare an outline. it doesn't need to be complete, it just needs to give you an angle of attack. Figure out an edge you can get on the topic. If you can pull up personal experience or current events, excellent; if you can't, make a general philosophical or scientic call from your knowledge. Keep reaching around until you find two or three such hooks, and turn each one into a paragraph. Then create an introduction and a conclusion based on those hooks. If something feels tenuous, ditch it and focus on your solid ideas.

 

Work in passes, when you have a time frame. Finish your outline, then pass over a very quick draft, getting down any thoughts you can. When that is done, work over it and check for errors; in the process, you'll find ways to shore up and expand your ideas. Keep an eye out for repetition or unclear wording. Remember, since you're not expected to be an expert on this subject, it's your clarity of speech and ability to confidently and persuasively express an idea that are most important, not whether or not you're right.

 

It's another ten months until the next MMI, give or take. In the next few months, practice writing quickly by (this always cracks me up) writing long forum posts, just like this one. Find debates you know little about and see how eloquently you can express yourself. When your arguments get torn down, shore them up with the new information: this is practice for going over and editing your own work later. Don't let yourself fall into the trap of thinking 'it's just a forum, spelling and grammar don't matter': if you practice proper typography all the time, it comes naturally on written tests.

 

Finally, a matter of pure opinion: I don't think it hurts to use a tiny bit of humour. Don't force it, but if you think of something funny, being able to throw it in shows natural confidence.