the one-on-three part of the interview

[Guest MACbetty]

hi everyone,

 

I recently visited a web site called studentdoctor.net where i read some interview feedback from Mac students. Many mentioned that we should know our autobio sketch inside out because the interviewers during the one-on-three interview really focus on that and their questions mostly stem from what you've written in the autobio sketch. I was wondering 1) do they also ask more typical questions concerning your knowledge of the medical field and what's going with the Canadian universal medicare system, what going on specifically in Ontario, etc..., and 2) can some of you who've been through the interview process relate your experience with details such as specific questions (if you can remember).

 

much appreciated,

MACbetty

[Guest jmh2005]

The best advice that I can give is to know every line of your 48-line sketch that you submitted. Prior to entering the room for the 1-on-3 interview, the 3 interviewers have had approximately 10-15 minutes to go over your sketch... so they roughly know how old you are, where and when you went to university, what you studied, etc...They will ask you about anything on that sketch, and they especially seem to pick the most bizarre experiences you have listed and ask what you learned from it (they did for me...)!!!

 

Of course, expect the obvious questions...why medicine? why do you think you would make a good physician? What do you have to offer your fellow students? How do you manage your time? etc...If you have an interesting and/or more detailed background (currently practicing a profession of some sort, 10 years since university study, etc...), be prepared to talk about that and why you now wish to pursue medicine. This may be the focus of 1st half of the interview.

 

Beyond those generalizations it is really hard to say, because there are so many interview teams with a real variety of people on those teams. My interviewers were really nice, friendly, maintained eye contact and really didn't ask me any crazy or challenging questions. Having now had discussions with my classmates, many felt they did horribly in the interview, the interviewers were cold and very challenging...so you never know...I was told by an interviewer that if the challenging questions start to come out, you are doing well...just keep your cool. So, I thought that I would never get in because I didn't get any of those insane questions...for example..."if you had to invite 3 people to dinner, living or dead, who would you choose and why?"..."what's the art in science or what's the science in art?"...nasty!!

 

You can never tell...just prepare as best you can, practice with others (do mock interviews), look up typical interview questions through an internet search, talk to those who have interviewed and try to talk to someone in the programme if possible. Gather as much info as you can...know the programme (this can't be stressed enough!!), know the profession (generally)...I really doubt they would expect you to know anything really specific, but the general struggles physicians are now and will be faced with in the future, is definately a good start!

 

Hope that helps, best of luck!

 

J

[Guest MDWannabe]

I absolutely agree with everything JMH said. Just an addition to stress that while the first question may come from your sketch, the rest will follow from how you pick up the ball from there. This is why everyone has such different experiences. I, like JMH, had warm, friendly, eye contact kind of interviewers. I wouldn't say that they asked any particularly difficult questions, but I like to think that was because I was very prepared. So I was grilled a bit on my view of the Family Health Network (although I did bring up the topic and had read up a bit on it).

 

The point is that you do have some control over the flow of the interview, and you should take advantage of that fact to show your best stuff. It's very easy to get hung up on one aspect of your resume such that they don't get a good picture of what you're about - and you can play a role in making sure that doesn't happen.

 

This being said, I have noted before my love of the fact that everyone in the program is very open about pointing out his or her own deficiencies. Expect the interviewers to pick up on your weak points and be able to address those points. This is not to scare you, because they likely won't be jumping on you about your weaknesses - but they will want to see that you have given appropriate thought to your strengths and weaknesses.

 

After the interview, I strongly suggest you do your very best not to second guess yourself. Many of my classmates (ie, the ones who got in) came out in near-tears or full out bawling. Many others came out very excitedly and charged up. It doesn't seem like your feelings coming out are really any indication as to your chances of getting in. Instead, keep in mind that once you get an interview, your chances of getting in have improved from 1 in 10 (at the initial application stage) to just under 1 in 2 (taking into account acceptances plus movement of the wait list). You're getting close!