Interview day

[med-dream]

How was the interview going today?

[herewego]

Had the honor to interview with the 8:00 am session. This was my first MMI and I felt it went well. Was your standard ethical dilemmas, role playing, and teamwork scenarios. The interviewers were pleasant to be around too. Overall, it was a great day... now it's the waiting game

[BAMFtastic]

Interviewed today.

 

Wow. That was a lot of fun. UBC is such a great school and I enjoyed all aspect of the interview. I hope I get accepted and it reflects my enthusiasm about my experience today!

[Conan]

To those that have interviewed in the past, are your experiences comparable? Any major changes?

[page_matrix]

Good to hear you guys had fun! Good luck to all those going tomorrow

[GREGtotheHOUSE]

To those that have interviewed in the past, are your experiences comparable? Any major changes?

 

not really, for me though. The ethical scenarios were pretty much the same at the core. The abstract stuff was pretty standard as well.

 

 

good luck guys : )

[Lunasly]

Can anyone here provide tips on how to prepare for the ethical and abstract scenarios?

[GREGtotheHOUSE]

Can anyone here provide tips on how to prepare for the ethical and abstract scenarios?

 

Try reading Doing Right. It's definitely very helpful for scenarios. As for abstract, the way I studied was just reading the news. And for acting I just got my girlfriend to help me.

 

hope that helps.

[herewego]

To be honest, I didn't find Doing Right to even be that helpful. One could get away with not perusing it. For role playing, just be yourself and imagine your best friend came to you with a problem; just act the same way! The abstract stations are purely subjective so there definitely is no right or wrong answer. However, if you want to prepare just watch the news muted and reflect on what you see or do not see.

[muhgel]

I have to catch a flight immediately after the interview. just wondering if someone can comment on how well the interview process sticks to the time described in the interview information pdf?

 

thanks

[shearkha]

I have to catch a flight immediately after the interview. just wondering if someone can comment on how well the interview process sticks to the time described in the interview information pdf?

 

thanks

 

I think mine ended around 30 mins late.

[pizzapizza]

How did reading the news help with the abstract question? My impression was that knowing current events won't really help us in the interview...

[wendyokoopa]

not really, for me though. The ethical scenarios were pretty much the same at the core. The abstract stuff was pretty standard as well.

 

Can someone please explain to me what an 'abstract' station is like? Maybe an example? Thanks!

[muhgel]

I think mine ended around 30 mins late.

 

thanks bud, good to know!

[herewego]

Can someone please explain to me what an 'abstract' station is like? Maybe an example? Thanks!

 

A car was painted half yellow and half red. Why did the car owner have his car painted this way?

 

Interviewer probing question: If the red was substituted for black, would your perspective on the owner change? Why?

 

Again, abstract is extremely subjective so it doesn't matter what you come up with. Just seeing how you think when there is no right or wrong

[wendyokoopa]

A car was painted half yellow and half red. Why did the car owner have his car painted this way?

 

Interviewer probing question: If the red was substituted for black, would your perspective on the owner change? Why?

 

Again, abstract is extremely subjective so it doesn't matter what you come up with. Just seeing how you think when there is no right or wrong

 

 

Wow. Okay, thanks.

 

Huh.

[herewego]

Wow. Okay, thanks.

 

Huh.

 

I highly recommend not answering with "huh" in your interview.

 

The owner had his car painted half yellow and half red because the colors symbolize the notion of being bright, bold, and peaceful. Combining the colors to cover the car completely orange could misrepresent the owner, as orange may undermine or mask the aforementioned qualities.

 

If he changed red to black, he may be an avid "bee-lover" or even an entomologist. Some people pride themselves in their profession and this may just be another example. For example, some people put "DR" or "DOC" on their license plates to proudly display their profession. Maybe he distributes honey for a company?

 

Is this right? I have no clue, I just made it up on the spot just like how you will have to in your interview. Be playful and open-minded with the abstract prompts because you MAY encounter more difficult ones in your interview.

 

Best of luck!

[optimism101]

A car was painted half yellow and half red. Why did the car owner have his car painted this way?

 

Interviewer probing question: If the red was substituted for black, would your perspective on the owner change? Why?

 

Again, abstract is extremely subjective so it doesn't matter what you come up with. Just seeing how you think when there is no right or wrong

 

Hmmm....I didn't have anything remotely as abstract as this in my interview this past weekend

[herewego]

Hmmm....I didn't have anything remotely as abstract as this in my interview this past weekend

 

Neither did I, but I didn't want to divulge the level of abstraction that stations entailed because that would not be fair to applicants who already interviewed. That was the best I could do lol

[optimism101]

Neither did I, but I didn't want to divulge the level of abstraction that stations entailed because that would not be fair to applicants who already interviewed. That was the best I could do lol

 

Fair enough. Just don't want to freak anyone out. None of the questions were really out of left field, even if they were "abstract" they weren't hard to talk about, or have an answer for. Really, just be prepared to have a conversation about any given topic and you'll be fine!

[wendyokoopa]

I highly recommend not answering with "huh" in your interview.

 

 

Thanks tips

[herewego]

Thanks tips

 

You're welcome Sergeant Sarcasm!

[Conan]

A car was painted half yellow and half red. Why did the car owner have his car painted this way?

 

Interviewer probing question: If the red was substituted for black, would your perspective on the owner change? Why?

 

Again, abstract is extremely subjective so it doesn't matter what you come up with. Just seeing how you think when there is no right or wrong

 

How is this abstract for anyone at all? This is probably the easiest question I've had to practice with yet! I was thinking that abstract questions would be discussing things like the pre-revolutionary utopia and the capital forming effect of military mobilization.

 

To answer your question: The car in it self is obviously symbolic of the owner's goals in life. Most likely, this owner is a pre-med student, possibly already at the stage of their interview.

 

The main colors here are red, yellow, and the unmentioned GREEN. Black is mentioned only to throw people off as it should not play a role this early in the question, I suppose which is why it's asked as a follow up question.

 

To discuss this problem, i will have to break them down to individual colors. And, if you have not already noticed, these lights are all symbolic of the stop-lights we see at intersections.

 

Firstly, I will discuss the Red. The red is symbolic of the medical school applicant preparing to stop everything in life and embarking on a completely new path in their pursuit of medicine. You may say, "wait a second, if they are heading on a new path, why is it still red?" The answer my friend, is that you have to look DEEP into yourself as an applicant and ask yourself. Is this really what I want? You have to work through the numbers, and come to the realization that, "Hey, I'm going to be losing another 10 years of my life, 4 years of potential income gone, along with another (average) 3-4 years of low pay, while I pay off the debt incurred from the first 4 years of the new path". You're life will be at a complete standstill from a financial perspective and from a logical life perspective. You will likely not be able to start a family, buy a car, buy a house, go on vacations, have a wedding, or even afford to have a girlfriend (if your male... I guess some females can be included here as well). You will be in the RED for the next decade of your life!

 

Yellow is symbolic of the medical applicant who does find some balance in life. They realize the conundrum the RED person is facing, but the yellow person is much more cautious in their approach to the issue. They will be the ones who continue to move forward with their lives, likely because they have family money that is there to support them. The other possibility is that there is a second source of income, a partner who makes a good living, or the yellow person could just be someone who has accumulated wealth over his/her working career and is looking for a change. There is still a chance to possibly get into a serious relationship, and possibly even married through the medical school program. Having kids is still a no-go though because it is very financially irresponsible, let alone, irresponsible parenting... being away 70-80 hours per week from your children during rotations etc.

 

Green. The unmentioned color. This is the color that the people in the red zone will look at and say, "look at those failures, they are not doing anything with their lives". On the contrary, the Green people are the ones who have moved forward with their lives the most. They already have a down payment on a house/condo, are in very serious and committed relationships, and although they aren't DOCTORS (the only job that is worth doing in the eyes of the RED), they still make a standard living, enough to support their families and go on vacation once a year.

 

Often times, the yellow, being so close to the green, will look towards the green with envy and wish to 'go with him/her on their path'.

 

The red will despise the green until they move into the yellow zone.

 

Now the black..............................

[monty]

Score for Conan...above average

 

How is this abstract for anyone at all? This is probably the easiest question I've had to practice with yet! I was thinking that abstract questions would be discussing things like the pre-revolutionary utopia and the capital forming effect of military mobilization.

 

To answer your question: The car in it self is obviously symbolic of the owner's goals in life. Most likely, this owner is a pre-med student, possibly already at the stage of their interview.

 

The main colors here are red, yellow, and the unmentioned GREEN. Black is mentioned only to throw people off as it should not play a role this early in the question, I suppose which is why it's asked as a follow up question.

 

To discuss this problem, i will have to break them down to individual colors. And, if you have not already noticed, these lights are all symbolic of the stop-lights we see at intersections.

 

Firstly, I will discuss the Red. The red is symbolic of the medical school applicant preparing to stop everything in life and embarking on a completely new path in their pursuit of medicine. You may say, "wait a second, if they are heading on a new path, why is it still red?" The answer my friend, is that you have to look DEEP into yourself as an applicant and ask yourself. Is this really what I want? You have to work through the numbers, and come to the realization that, "Hey, I'm going to be losing another 10 years of my life, 4 years of potential income gone, along with another (average) 3-4 years of low pay, while I pay off the debt incurred from the first 4 years of the new path". You're life will be at a complete standstill from a financial perspective and from a logical life perspective. You will likely not be able to start a family, buy a car, buy a house, go on vacations, have a wedding, or even afford to have a girlfriend (if your male... I guess some females can be included here as well). You will be in the RED for the next decade of your life!

 

Yellow is symbolic of the medical applicant who does find some balance in life. They realize the conundrum the RED person is facing, but the yellow person is much more cautious in their approach to the issue. They will be the ones who continue to move forward with their lives, likely because they have family money that is there to support them. The other possibility is that there is a second source of income, a partner who makes a good living, or the yellow person could just be someone who has accumulated wealth over his/her working career and is looking for a change. There is still a chance to possibly get into a serious relationship, and possibly even married through the medical school program. Having kids is still a no-go though because it is very financially irresponsible, let alone, irresponsible parenting... being away 70-80 hours per week from your children during rotations etc.

 

Green. The unmentioned color. This is the color that the people in the red zone will look at and say, "look at those failures, they are not doing anything with their lives". On the contrary, the Green people are the ones who have moved forward with their lives the most. They already have a down payment on a house/condo, are in very serious and committed relationships, and although they aren't DOCTORS (the only job that is worth doing in the eyes of the RED), they still make a standard living, enough to support their families and go on vacation once a year.

 

Often times, the yellow, being so close to the green, will look towards the green with envy and wish to 'go with him/her on their path'.

 

The red will despise the green until they move into the yellow zone.

 

Now the black..............................

[ADH]

pre-revolutionary utopia and the capital forming effect of military mobilization.

 

.

 

As a matter of fact I don't think they would include such prompts, because Wood drastically underestimates the impact of social distinction predicated upon wealth, especially inherited wealth.