Guest tirisa Posted January 17, 2003 Report Share Posted January 17, 2003 Hi there, I know it's premature to even be thinking about this, but since there's not much time between hearing about interviews and the actual interview, I was wondering if someone can outline the simulated tutorial aspect of the interview process. Also, someone mentioned to me that, as part of the interview process, they had to comment on a video interaction between a physician and a patient. How does that factor into the final decision?? Any comments are welcome. Cheers, Tirisa Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest jmh2005 Posted January 18, 2003 Report Share Posted January 18, 2003 Hey tirisa, There are two parts to the simulated tutorial aspect of Mac's interview. The first part involves breaking up into groups of 6 (don't worry that's all very well organized and done for you...) and discussing a non-health care related problem for a half-hour. The group is given this "problem" and it is read aloud by your MD student host. The problem is to be discussed among the 6 members of the group in a semi-circle and 3 people are behind the 1-way glass mirror observing (no stress here!). The problem is meant to be DISCUSSED and not necessarily answered in the 15 minutes given. There is time given at the end for both group evaluation and self-evaluation, approx. 1 min is allotted for each person to give group fdbk and 1 minute for their individual fdbk. The idea behind the tutorial is to see how you interact in a group, interpersonal skills, listening skills and assess specific attributes like summarizing, facilitating, time keeping..etc...You don't want to be the person who is so dominating that you do all the talking, yet you also don't want to be the one who doesn't say a word. I think that an intelligent balance is a must. But....the group and self-evals are the keys in my opinion, if you did not do want you wanted to in the 1st part of the session. So, don't fret if the discussion doesn't necessarily go your way. You need to able to honestly articulate how you HONESTLY felt the group performed and specifically how you performed . This includes both positive and constructive feedback...you must find something constructive to say! So, if you were too quiet, say so, if you felt like you cut someone off, acknowledge that, etc... One student, one faculty member and one community member sits behind the 1-way mirror, these 3 people know nothing about you, but your name and in what seat you are sitting in. They do not know who will be (or who has) interviewed you. The 2nd part of the simulated tutorial part of the day involves watching a short video (5 minutes, I believe...) and you are then given 3 short questions to answer regarding the video. The video is an interaction between a doc and a patient (and their caregiver, in my case). Here they are trying to assess your listening skills, observational skills, inituition and ability to identify feelings and emotions of individuals. You are given 25 minutes to answer the questions (IN THE BOXES provided, write small or you will quickly run out of space...) and the 3rd question asks you to self-evaluate your performance on the exercise, how do you think you did? The last part of the day (usually) is the 30 minute 3-on-1 interview. This team is also comprised of a student, faculty and community member and this time, they have 10 minutes to review your 50 line autobiographical sketch that you submitted to OMSAS, so they do know roughly what you've done since age 16. You can expect your typical med school interview questions...I was lucky and didn't get anything at all wacky (but I do know several classmates who did get crazy questions...). Very straight forward, just make sure you show your dedication, committment to medicine, demonstrate that you are a well-rounded person, be honest and sincere and most of all, be yourself. That's the best advice I can give. Hope that helps, Good luck! J Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest MDFEVER Posted January 18, 2003 Report Share Posted January 18, 2003 Hi jmh2005, Is the part two in group or on your own? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest jmh2005 Posted January 18, 2003 Report Share Posted January 18, 2003 Hi MD fever (great name, by the way!!) The video exercise is done in a small room that fits 30-35 applicants, but it is a totally independent exercise and you are not to talk until your answer sheet is handed in. This small group of applicants all watch the video together (it is projected on a typical projector screen). The room had a bunch of tables with chairs that made a square around the room, like I said enough room for about 30 (maybe a bit more). Hope that helps! Good night! J Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest me maniac Posted January 18, 2003 Report Share Posted January 18, 2003 Do you mind clarifying for me if the group and self-evaluation after the first part is done orally, or do you get to write down your response. I guess I'm wondering that if it is done orally, kind of round-table discussion style, by the time the last person's turn came to summarize what he thought, he could just be repeating what the other 5 people have said, just in a round about way. I'm not saying that he didn't have anything original to say, just that he agreed with the others and nothing new to add to it. I also think my responses would be better planned/thought out before writing them as opposed to blabbing what I thought, only to realize after my turn that I should of added something else to my response (sorry, but sometimes, my brain and mouth don't co-ordinate that well! >D ). me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest jmh2005 Posted January 18, 2003 Report Share Posted January 18, 2003 Hi me, You bring up a very valid point. The evaluations both group and individual in which each person is given roughly 1 minute (it actually does go by very fast...) are done orally. However, you are given 1 little piece of paper I believe (or at least you are able to have a clip board with paper on your person when you in the group) because I know that I jotted down a few very brief comments during my sim. tutorial. It really all depends on where you sit in the group (physically). Like I said, you are sitting in a semi-circle, 6 seats. Now what I was told, was to take a seat in the middle 3 chairs (facing the mirror) so the evaluators can really see your face. But I was also told by someone else to sit on the end, so that you can easily initiate the eval in the 1st place (which is good too!) However, when you are walking down the long corridor, chatting with other applicants, you're nervous...the last thing I really thought about was seating placement (I had forgot what I was told until I panicked and saw only 1 seat left)!!! Needless to say, I was the last in the room and got the chair basically perpendicular to the window!! So, I angled the chair as best I could so that the evaluators could see me well, but also making sure that my group could see me just as well. However, with all that being said there may be someone sitting wherever who just begins the eval, you really never can tell. If you do end up being the 1st person to speak about the group, that's great, be reflective, say alot and be constructive...this will likely mean that you will be last to speak about yourself (but that's OK, because the feedback you say about yourself will not have likely been said already right??). But if you are the last person to speak about the group, it is OK to say that you 'agree with what has been said', and 'for the sake of time you will not repeat it', but really try to come up with something original, write it down...ie. 'maybe our discussion would have been more focused if we had drawn a short agenda on the board', 'maybe next time we could have assigned roles within the group to try to keep us on time', 'I would have liked to have summarized our discussion just to make sure that covered the main points, but I ran out of time'....there are really a tonne of potential things you can say about the fxn/lack of fxn in a group, those are just a few examples. Because really what they are trying to evaluate whether or not you have the requisite skills to function well in a group, even if it does seem a bit artificial...the tutorial is the basis of Mac Med, I would say more than half of your learning occurs in tutorial, so you need to know how to function well in a group or you will be in big trouble. P.S. even if you did forget something after your 'turn' is over, as long is there is still time left, you can always add in something, as long as it is polite and appropriately timed... Sorry, I tend to be a bit wordy...hope that helps. Don't worry, just be prepared for all possibilities! Good luck! J Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest MDFEVER Posted January 19, 2003 Report Share Posted January 19, 2003 Hello jmh2005, Thanks for your detail answer, just one more question, do you allow to bring a binder with you so you can write down something important? Also, what you have to bring for your interview? Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest jmh2005 Posted January 19, 2003 Report Share Posted January 19, 2003 MD fever, You are allowed to write things down in the tutorial, however they will take any paper you write on before you leave the room. You cannot keep anything, if you do write notes they are to be used at the time only. If you get an invite to interview, MAC will tell you to bring photo ID with your full name and date of birth. I don't believe that there were any other requirements, however I could be mistaken. I brought my leather briefcase with a small clipboard with a bit of paper (which I did use as I said in the tutorial part) but I mainly brought it because I wanted to have something on my lap during the tutorial. In the 1-on-3 interview, I did not even take it out of my bag. Hope that helps, J Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest macdaddyeh Posted January 19, 2003 Report Share Posted January 19, 2003 Hi there. I would also like to know how long the actual interview process usually takes. More specifically, how many hours elapse between the time you arrive, do the tutorial, the video and the interview and any other extraneous things of interest. I heard about the mini-interviews last year as well. Will those figure in this year's process? Finally, does all this talk mean that Mac has come to a decision now on who is getting an interview, seeing that in over a month we will likely be receiving our invite (or rejection letters)? :rolleyes Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest jmh2005 Posted January 19, 2003 Report Share Posted January 19, 2003 You guys are the greatest procrastion tool...I should be studying acid/base balance (...I hate biochemistry...) but hey your questions are important too, right??? The interviews are on two consecutive weeks this year (I believe...last year Easter fell between the two interview weeks), Saturday and Sunday. If you do get an invite, the letter will tell you exactly where you need to be and at what time. I believe that there are 3 arrival times...approximately 6:30 am (yes AM!), 10:05 am and 12 something...you are greeted and must present your ID and are given a name tag and are told to sit in the applicant area. Your tag will be colour coded and after a general greeting, (there are approx. 35-40 applicants with you at this time) you will then be divided and further subdivided according to the letter and number on your tage as well. I had to be there at 10:05 am, I had my video exercise first from 10:50 to 11:20 (i believe...) then we did the simulated tutorial from approx. 11:50 am to 12:15. There was then time for lunch (not that i could eat...) pizza, muffins, fruit, etc...inbetween the tutorial exercises and the 1-on-3. My personal interview was then at 2:00 to 2:30 pm. Some people had their interviews at 1:00, some at 1:30, some at 2:00 pm, it just depends on when you were scheduled (no rhyme or reason...). So technically I was done at 2:30 pm, my interview was exactly 30 minutes and they gave me about 3-4 minutes at the end to tell them anything I wanted to in order for them to judge my suitablity for the programme. I then stuck around to do the Mini-mock interview thing from 4-6 pm...by the end of the day, I was fried!! Ok...I just dug up my invite letter...they don't break down the time of two parts of the simulated tutorial on the invite letter, mine just said 10:45 - 12:10 pm, so we were just a few minutes behind schedule. The other thing they want is a passport size photo which they keep...make sure it is a photo that actually looks like you on the day of your interview (recent)...that may sound silly, but you want to be remembered, especially if someone met you at some point in the process who may also be on the collation committee, so don't hand in a picture from the 10th grade... So, count on roughly 4-5 hours of time...we will also be giving tours of the hospital after all groups of interviews are done, so if you stick around for that, count on more time. I have yet to hear anything about interviews, if they are changing the process or not...I highly doubt that at this point...I think more research needs to be done... All the sketch marks are officially in now, and they are crunching the numbers in order to come up with the 400 top scores for interview...don't worry it will come soon, count on March 1st... Good luck and I'm crossing my fingers for all of you posters...you're all very inquisitive and I think would do quite well at Mac!! I hope that was helpful...its a fun and exciting day, I remember it well because it meant so much! Now..back to my kidney acid and base regulation... J Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest tirisa Posted January 19, 2003 Report Share Posted January 19, 2003 Hey J, Thanks for all your comments and clarifications thus far. I hate to interrupt your acid/base balance studies again but you mentioned staying past your interview for a mini mock interview. What's that all about. Just wondering. As for the rest of the interview process, things are now much more clear now... thanks again. Cheers, T Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest AJ Posted January 20, 2003 Report Share Posted January 20, 2003 Phew! I finally get to answer some questions before J gets to it. She's been doing quite a bit of procrastination as I can see . NOw it's my turn! So, Tirisa, the mini mock interview we volunteered for was actually an experiment that the "higher-ups" were doing. Essentially, Mac is trying to develop a new interview procedure which will allow them to better select their students. If you're interested, I can find you the thread from last year which discussed the nature of the new process. I'll post it when I find it. Maybe J will find it before I do. AJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest AJ Posted January 20, 2003 Report Share Posted January 20, 2003 Hi Tirisa! I found the thread, but I don't know how to post it within a message. It's on the second page, under the heading, "The New Interview Study". Hope this helps! AJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest AJ Posted January 20, 2003 Report Share Posted January 20, 2003 Sorry, I wrote the wrong heading in the last post. The real heading is actually "Most Recent Interview Study" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ian Wong Posted January 20, 2003 Report Share Posted January 20, 2003 Here ya go. The easiest way to do what you're asking is to go to the original thread that you want to reference, copy the URL, and then just paste it into your new message, like this: pub125.ezboard.com/fpremed101frm9.showMessage?topicID=216.topic Ian UBC, Med 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest AJ Posted January 20, 2003 Report Share Posted January 20, 2003 Thanks Ian! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest logosmd Posted January 22, 2003 Report Share Posted January 22, 2003 Hey jmh2005, Really appreciate your description of the interview day. Makes me all hopeful and excited... What did you do to prepare for the "big day"? Was there anything in particular that you wished you knew more about? Anything that surprised you? What does everyone wear? How dressed up does everyone get? I know that the focus would not be on what I am wearing but on who I am. But still.... Cheers, logosmd Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest jmh2005 Posted January 23, 2003 Report Share Posted January 23, 2003 logosmd, I honestly can't think of anything I would have rather known other than what the structure of the day would have been like, which I posted above. Someone told me to "have fun and enjoy the day" and ironically it was really good advice, helped to relax me a bit. In terms of dress, I wore a long black jacket and pant suit (I'm female...) with a medium blue shirt as did many of the applicants male and female alike (however, the men didn't have the long jacket and they all wore ties, mostly). There were some people who were way underdressed (they're not in my class...), better to go over than under in my opinion. Hope that helps, J Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest logosmd Posted January 29, 2003 Report Share Posted January 29, 2003 Thanks! It does help. It helps just hearing that someone has gone through this and been successful at it. Appreciate your posts, logosmd Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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