Guest Aconitase Posted April 10, 2001 Report Share Posted April 10, 2001 ...but sometimes, during an interview, how the heck cna you not! I mean, considering the fact that most interviewers are going to be middle-aged conservatives, how can you not lie when asked: 1) What is your favorite type of music? ANS: I like rap/hip-hop, in particular 2Pac. I think he is very poteic in his verses and I really like Snoop Doggy Dogg and Eminem a lot as well because I can relate to them. BAM...right away you know the interviewer is going to reject you. 2) What do you like to watch on TV? ANS: I like WWF RAW because it is entertaining and athletic. PUPPIES!!! Again, time to kiss med school goodbye 3) What do you listen to on the radio? ANS: Howard Stern, because in the morning there is nothing better than playing a game of 'guess who is the transvesitte' 4) What is your favorite sport/sports team? ANS: anything other than Hockey/Toronto Maple Leafs and you are out the door. 5) What is the last book/magazine your read? ANS: Well last months edition of Playboy magainze and The HardyBoys book #4. Conclusion: Don't tell me sometimes it is not in your best interest to lie! I bet no on gives a 100% true interview, because let's face it, we ALL do some things that are, well, common in nature and we know that the ultra-conservatice Adcoms will frown upon anything that it is not 'dignified'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest EZPLF Posted April 11, 2001 Report Share Posted April 11, 2001 Good post! I believe the trick is to work in as much of 'who you are' into the socially desirable answer. I mean do you really want to tell them your greatest weakness? Mine certainly wasn't that I am stubborn, which I turned into determined and knowing where my priorities lie. . . I am stubborn, but I could probably think up worse personal characteristics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anon Posted April 11, 2001 Report Share Posted April 11, 2001 Get caught and you have absolutely no chance of getting admission - telling them you love 2Pac might have been a better option. I don't think you can say that all applicants aren't 100% truthful. Some people are painfully honest and have tremendous confidence in themselves and their application that they don't need to lie. In fact, I would venture a guess and say that the interviewers/AdComm's appreciate honesty, ie. asking "what your worst trait is" and the standard answer that they hear most often is that "I'm a perfectionist...blah-blah..." Others may not directly lie but exaggerate the truth, risky but not as potentially detrimental. But I think few are masochistic enough to outright lie during their interview. They see hundreds of candidates and are looking for reasons to eliminate them, and like other posts here, it's not too difficult to spot a liar. You better be damn good at lying to even consider it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest BP Posted April 11, 2001 Report Share Posted April 11, 2001 Actually, in my interview I had no problem saying that I was stubborn when asked what my greatest weakness is. I have spent several years in the work force and have conducted many interviews (being the interviewer), and as another poster in this thread said, honesty is appreciated. I tuned out so fast when I heard the perfectionist, determined, or my personal favourite "I can get frustrated with lazy people...", when asking the greatest weakness question. They can't be so idealistic to assume that perfect people exist out there and they are all applying to medicine! We all have faults, more than one I'm sure, as long as you don't pick one that is totally devastating (I have an incredibly short temper....), you will be OK. I can see no wrong in saying that you can stubborn at times, because from stubborness stems a lot of good qualities, and if you add how you work through and with your stubborness in work/academic/team situations, I doubt it can hurt you. Oh, for those about to interview, just a small piece of advice and it's only an opinion, if asked "how your friends would describe you" don't say (as I've heard as a past interviewer) things like "my friends would say I'm hardworking....determined....perfectionist...meticulous...orderly.....," because would your friends really say that about you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Aconitase Posted April 11, 2001 Report Share Posted April 11, 2001 Well I think the point I am getting at is not a real 'lie' in the sense that effects your personality (ie - your worse trait) I meant for about your interests/hobbies. I bet everyone who interviews either listens to some form of music, or watches some tv program, or even reads a certain book/magazine that is a social faux-pas. Afterall, most of us are still under 25, a lot of this stuff is targeted at us! Now, would a little white-lie about which tv show or form of music you like really be all that bad, or would you rather try to convice a conservative adcom memebr why Eminem is really a great artist? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Random Posted April 11, 2001 Report Share Posted April 11, 2001 I interviewed recently and while I did prepare "politically correct" responses to the types of questions discussed here, none of those seemed to surface at the time of my interview. In fact, I even volunteered information I maybe shouldn't have like how many times I wrote the MCAT and other details about my academic record. The truth just seemed to come out naturally. I wasn't asked the question about my musical preferences, but hip-hop would have been my number one answer. I would have backed it up by commenting on some of the works of genius that can be uncovered in the lyrics of such music. Much like Picasso and other great artists for instance that were trying to express their feelings through some avenue, so too do musicians such as 2-Pac Shakur etc. I think it would be important to emphasize the parallels between Shakur and other great artists who all have a similar goal - to bring about social change. If you can relate your interest to that of the interviewer, you should be able to speak freely without the fear of misinterpretation. If it weren't for such people, society would not question the status quo. This again is what I would do, the original post is the safe approach - be conformist b/c it shows a tendency towards conservatism. Keep in mind I don't know how I did. If I don't get in, I'll be sure to take my foot out of my mouth before posting here again. Chacun son gout. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Turkeytonya Posted April 19, 2002 Report Share Posted April 19, 2002 you say that lies can't hurt well it can cause sometime the truth should be keep to your self for the simple fact that if you say it you could have more enemies then friends.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest PeterHill0501 Posted April 19, 2002 Report Share Posted April 19, 2002 Aconitase...and everyone else who believes it is ok to lie during an interview...or anytime else... I have to admit...I'm extremely disappointed to hear how easy it is for some people to lie. Personally, I find it quite distasteful. I really hate deceit. I have several bad qualities...several of which I was asked about during my interview. I took my interview to be both them interviewing me and me interviewing them. I really wanted them to know who "I" was...because if they can't accept me for who I am I'd very likely be unhappy because I'd have to put on an act and they'd be unhappy because they would get someone different than they thought they were getting. I wonder, if you lied during your interview, what else you might be dishonest about if you became a physician? What would you do if you made an honest mistake and it cost someone their life? Would you fess up and take the consequences or would you lie? What would you do if you were somehow placed in a potential conflict of interest situation? Personally, I hope anybody who lied during their interview gets a flat out rejection. If there is one quality (besides being competent and up-to-date) that I want in a physician...it's honesty. Just my opinion. Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest TimmyMax Posted April 20, 2002 Report Share Posted April 20, 2002 Hey Aconitase, What's wrong with reading the Hardy Boys? I mean, I love reading about their antics before they became Tag Team extraordinaire, even if they were living under aliases in their teenaged years... Tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest browsing Posted April 20, 2002 Report Share Posted April 20, 2002 Playboy is described by some as being degrading to women, and gangsta rap as promoting crime and hatred. There's no way any honest applicant can sneak past the AdCom here by telling the truth. PeterHill0501, in your world everyone who deserves to get into medicine is completely wholesome and lives only to benefit society and never engages in anything remotely politically incorrect. It's a beautiful wish, but a wish it remains. The fact of the matter is, doctors who listen to gangsta rap can also believe that drive-bys aren't the best solution to problems. There are differences between a lie at an interview and a lie about medical malpractice. Does everyone who picks up and keeps a dime on the ground automatically also keep a briefcase containing $25,000? I don't know where the line is, but it's there. Not everyone fits the ideal profile of personal interests. It's probably not the business of the admission committee to ask these things but when the question comes up an answer has got to be made. So what if they sidestepped a minor and insignificant risk at the interview. We will never know who they are, because they are capable of acting professionally as doctors. Just my opinion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest PeterHill0501 Posted April 20, 2002 Report Share Posted April 20, 2002 Browsing, I never said that people who should get into medicine are or should be totally "wholesome". I, for one, am anything but completely wholesome...but I am honest. I think honesty is an incredibly important attribute of a physician...again, this is only my opinion. Over the 38 (almost 39) years that I've been alive, I've made incredible mistakes...I've tried things that, in retrospect, were damaging (psychologically and physically)...stupid...wrong... but I am honest...and I can see the errors I've made...and I can learn from them. Am I sorry I did some of these things? No! Have I learned from them? Absolutely! Will it benefit me in life...and, if I'm so lucky to have the opportunity, when I become a physician? Without a doubt! By the way, I too like rap music, classical music, metal, hip hop, acid rock, classic rock...there's absolutely nothing wrong with that...that's not what I'm talking about. I don't think the metaphor of those who pick up a dime is relevant...it's about honesty...it's about presenting who you are...it's about ensuring you are a fit with a huge endeavour which will affect your life and other people's lives. I personally don't think there is an "ideal profile of interests". Diversity is golden...if everyone were the same what a boring life this would be. However, if everyone were liars...hmmm...somehow I think that would be a pretty big empty existence. Playboy, by the way, is degrading to women and men alike...I don't believe that women should ever feel they have to be like the women in Playboy, Penthouse, etc., to be desireable. The world of pornography (while I don't judge people who like to look at it) is not for me...it's not just pictures...it feeds unhealthy people with unhealthy ideas about who women are...what they stand for...what decent boundaries exist...what is too far and what is reasonable...but this is an entirely different discussion...one which is quite unrelated to the present discussion of honesty. Getting back to the subject at hand...actually, I personally believe it is the business of the admissions committee to understand who you are...they are selecting, from among 2000 plus candidates, the next generation of doctors. However subjective the process seems from the outside...I believe they do the best job they can...and they do weed out the people who probably won't make good doctors. Unfortunately, many great candidates get weeded out at the same time...I just hope they weed out the people who are dishonest...those that are not confident enough in who they are and what they have done...what they stand for...to be straight forward and upfront. Anyway, I appreciate your point of view...it's just different than mine. I do, however, enjoy the fact that you've challenged what I stand for and that you've provided me with an opportunity to think about...and solidify what I believe in...thank-you. Perhaps we'll meet up in med school...or in a bar over a beer one day...I look forward to that time. Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest hmsdread Posted April 20, 2002 Report Share Posted April 20, 2002 I know someone who was asked about her muscial tastes last year during an interview. She responded that she loved rap. The interviewers then followed up by asking her why she liked rap, since it can be vulgar and derogatory towards women. She in turn defended the right to free speech and argued against censorship. She is in medical school now. Telling the truth even when controversial may be a better option than lying. Keep it in mind. hmsdread Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest PeterHill0501 Posted April 20, 2002 Report Share Posted April 20, 2002 hmsdread, Excellent point...this is exactly what I'm talking about. I know some of the examples I gave could be perceived as extreme, however, when someone will lie to gain entry to med school it leaves me wondering what else they will lie about? Choosing to return to school after having already completed two degrees and an 11 year career...reducing my income to 0 for four years and to about 1/4 of what I presently make for at least another two after that...realizing that when I graduate that I will have over 100K debt...after having rearranged living arrangements with my children (i.e., having my children live with me every second weekend rather than half of the time to accomodate the demands of med school, call, etc.)...in short (or not so short) I take this opportunity very seriously. So, I guess when I hear people talking about the fact that they will lie to get into med school it really irks me...it also tells me that they quite possibly could be going into medicine for the wrong reasons and perhaps don't have what it takes to be an ethical classmate or physician. Thanks for the post hmsdread...I hope all of the candidates who get offers and accept positions are like your friend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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