Transcript Getting_into_Medicine_-_Succeeding_at_Interviews_2013_Decx

Getting into Medicine
Succeeding at interviews
Jenny Mullins-White
Careers Consultant
December 2013
Dashi Alpion
Careers Adviser
Aim: to practice
typical interview
questions by using
personal examples
Overview of the session
Tips on how
to prepare for
interviews
Good preparation and research
Creating a positive impact
Practice
exercise
Responding positively to
interview questions
Ice Breaker: Share with the person next to you a good
or bad experience you have had during an interview.
What have you learned from this experience? (3mins)
Feedback to the group (2mins)
Some attributes of doctors include:
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Competence
Caring
Compassion
Commitment
Confidentiality
Advocacy
Integrity
Responsibility
Purpose of the Interview
• For the Medical School Panel:
To select the best students to become the best
doctors
To assess communication skills
• For You:
an opportunity to show commitment to medicine
and clear reasons for wanting to study medicine
communicate to the panel your values, attitudes
and personal qualities through your behaviour
within the interview room
Interview Criteria
• Understanding of what doctors do
• Learned about team working during work experience
• Displays appropriate attitudes e.g. empathy and
integrity
• Communication skills in confidence and clarity of
answers
• Academic ability, intellectual curiosity, common sense
• Ethical dilemmas
Types of Interviews
• Panel Interviews - one, two or
more interviewers asking you a set
of questions
• Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI) –
several stations where an interview
in each station will focus on a
specific scenario/question
The Panel Interview
Questions testing your:
• motivation and commitment
• qualities and competencies of a good doctor
• ethical questions
• knowledge of the profession, institution and
current issues
Responding to competency questions
The STAR technique:
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Situation – Set the context: where? when?
Make it concise and informative
Task Describe the challenge and expectations;
what needed to be done and why?
Action – Elaborate on your specific action;
what did you do
Result – Explain the results/achievements/recognition
 Top Tip: be prepared, be personal and use specific
examples to illustrate the skills identified
Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)
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At each station, the applicant is presented with a question, scenario
or task
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Different stations (usually 6-10) with set time limit
(e.g. 6-8 minutes)
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Preparation time: instructions for the station may be posted outside
the room and the applicant given 2 minutes to read and analyze the
instructions prior to entering the room.
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Interviewers may not have seen UCAS personal statement
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See each one as fresh start
MMIs
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MMI was created as a potentially more effective means of
assessing qualities that lie outside the realm of grades and test
scores
Types of stations may include:
Ethical dilemmas or questions about policy or social issues.
Interactions with an actor
Standard interview questions.
A task requiring teamwork.
Essay writing
A rest station.
Preparation and research
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Research the school’s website/prospectus
Re-acquaint yourself with the personal statement
Reflect on your work experience
Keeping up to date with science and health news
Practise predictable questions
Activity:
Explain to the person next to you what is in
your personal statement (3mins)
Feedback to the group (2mins)
What are some of the
predictable questions?
• Why do you want to be a doctor?
• What attracts you most and least about
this Medical School?
• Do you read any medical publications?
• Tell us about Hippocrates/oath
• Do you think doctors should set a good
example to their patients in their own
lives? How or why this might be
difficult?
Making a positive impact
• Plan journey and arrive 10 minutes before
interview
• Have all relevant ID and documentation with you
• Prepare good examples for questions
• Be interesting and enthusiastic!
• Be calm, polite, breathe deeply and SMILE!
Remember that 70% of communication is nonverbal
Activity:
Write an example of a challenging
situation and what you learnt from it
(5mins)
Feedback to the group (2mins)
Strong answers
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Clarify questions, take your time
Positive & assertive, focus on your input
Solid examples with results
Concise, but offer more details so they can
choose
• Confident delivery, body language
• And include your ‘best points’
Keeping up to date with
science and health news
• BBC Health
• NHS National Library for Health
• MedicineNet
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British Medical Journal (BMJ)
Student BMJ
New Scientist
The Guardian
Other resources
• http://www.medicalcareers.nhs.uk/
• http://bma.org.uk/
• Becoming a Doctor: Entry in 2014
• “So you want to be a doctor?”
Stephen Sanders, David Metcalfe and Harveer Dev, 2011
Interview Exercise
• 15 minutes (5 minutes for each role)
• Working in threes, you will have the opportunity to
practice all the 3 roles
– Interviewer; Interviewee; Observer
• Use the questions from the cards provided
• 10 minutes group feedback
What next?
• Book an appointment online via the
Careers Network website:
www.intranet.birmingham.ac.uk/careers
• Follow us on
@ MDScareers