Previous interview Q

[Guest Xine15]

Hi gang.

 

I had an interview at Ottawa 2yrs ago and after I was asked why I wanted to be a doctor, I was also asked "If you are interested in dealing with people/patients, why don't you become a nurse?"

I guess I should have seen the question coming but I was sort of at a loss for words. Can you really say something along the lines of -I want to be in charge- without sounding arrogant?....Any suggestions on how to handle this one?

 

Thanks.

[Guest aneliz]

I suggest that you look at what the differences in practice are between a doctor and a nurse and decide what it is about being a doctor that appeals to you more than being a nurse.

 

And saying "I want to be in charge" would be a little too arrogant in my opinion....remember that a community member on your panel has a pretty high probability of *being* a nurse...

[Guest jackiedirks]

I think if you were to say something along the lines of- "I am a natural leader and feel that I could bring a lot to the medical team within this position" would cover what you want to say without being too arrogant.

[Guest coolguy3650]

Or you couls say "I'd enjoy the greater autonomy that comes with being a doctor." That doesn't sound arrogant at all, but it get your point across.

[Guest dogeatdog12]

I would answer "being a doctor involves more of an intellectual challenge".

[Guest tappety tap]

how about wanting to be an expert in a certain field as well as a care giver?

[Guest katwoman2003]

Medicine involves the art of diagnosis along with various leadership roles. Would that be a good answer?

[Guest Bighead]

The canned answer for this is "I want to be in charge".

 

If you REALLY want to impress your interviewers, have something in mind about the differences in the professions, wholistic care vs. diagnostic care, and reasons for going into each.

 

So long as you're not stumped by it, and dont say something like "Hey, nursing! Thats a great idea! Could you add that to the list of things that I'll do if I dont get in this year?"

[Guest fox]

I actually said in all my interviews that if I didn't EVENTUALLY get into med school that I was thinking about nursing. I told them I really wanted to work in the health care field and if I didn't get into med school after re-applying several times then I was going to do an after-degree in nursing. I guess it just depends how you explain the things you say, not exactly what you say (well, in some instances).

[Guest mydream88]

How about:

While I have the greatest admiration and respect for the difficult duties nurses perform, there is one aspect of a career in medicine that nursing does not offer: the authority to MAKE medical decisions such as ordering meds, admitting patient to the ICU, etc. While nurses are positively enrolled in maintaining, saving and monitoring patient's lives, for the most part, it is the physician who ultimately decides the treatment protocols/diagnoses of patients and it is this role of decision maker/problem solver in conjunction with general care giver, to which I aspire.

 

mydream88

[Guest MDHopeful04]

Seeing that medicine is quite a conservative profession, how appropriate would light humour be in med school interviews? On one side, it could show a more personal/human side of the candidate to the admissions committee, which is positive, and also lighten the mood of the interview, but on the other, the committee may hastily conclude that they are not ready/serious enough for medicine, which is negative.

 

I know that being oneself during the interview is most important. But would it be appropriate to throw in some humour?

 

With reference to Bighead's comment about nursing being a great idea, I personally wouldn't have thought of that as being inappropriate, provided it was meant as a joke and not one's "final answer" to the admissions committee.

 

Any thoughts?

[Guest Ian Wong]

Seeing that medicine is quite a conservative profession, how appropriate would light humour be in med school interviews?

You just gotta approach these things on a case by case basis. I firmly believe that the interviews in which you perform best are those where you have managed to convince yourself that this isn't really an interview. In other words, you could care less that these 30+ minutes actually have a huge and decisive impact over the next 4 years of your life.

 

Quite right, I, and many of the other med students here will tell you to buy that dark suit, get your hair professionally trimmed, leave the nose rings at home, and really show that you fit the "conservative" mold of a physician. Maybe you're wondering if trying to "look the physician-type" also means that you need to act that way too. I personally don't think so.

 

Your dress is just the uniform, and you probably do want to be cookie-cutter for that (don't be the guy walking in wearing khakis and a golf shirt when everyone else is wearing suits), but your personality and background is your own, and that's where you will be able to make a lasting impression on your interviewers. Good interviews result in both parties taking something away from the interview, and having both parties remembering some of what was discussed.

 

Look at it from the interviewer's side. Remember that your interviewer will probably be interviewing ten, twenty, heck, fifty or even a hundred people before his/her job is through. You want your interaction to be memorable, because nothing is more boring than going through 10 consecutive cookie-cutter interviewees.

 

That's why you look for those unique parts about your background and talk about that trip to Africa, or discuss your experiences teaching students, or get into your ethical and problem-solving abilities with mock scenarios, etc. That's also why being an engineering grad is going to help you when you apply, because you can potentially bring something unique to the interview, and to your future medical school classmates. And that's also why being laid-back, and not being afraid to laugh or show that you've got a fun personality will help you as well.

 

Now, as with everything else, this is situational. That's why there's an art to interviewing, and why people tend to get better as they interview more. You really need to cue off the other person, and pay attention to when they're interested, or when they'd like to move on. Nothing is more annoying than someone who keeps rambling on when the other person wants to shift topics, because it shows that they are oblivious to the other person's body language and intentions.

 

Therefore, if you get an interviewer who responds well to the humour, keep it up. If you get a real crusty old-school doctor, or someone who is intentionally giving you the frosty reception to see how you react, then that's obviously a bit trickier.

 

I truly believe that the most important skill as an interviewee, and heck, probably as a physician, is the ability to read other people, and really understand them both in terms of what they are physically saying, as well as what they are unconsciously projecting through their body language, posture, and demeanour. If you can bring that high level of awareness of the other party to your conversation, and use that to guide the course of events, you'll likely have a great interview.

 

Ian