Medical School Interview Flashcards
What are your career plans and what led you to this decision?
I know medical school will be a time for me to learn about the different paths my career in medicine will take. Right now, I have an interest in surgery and urology. These are both areas that I feel will meet my goal to include research and service work into my career. Regardless of the field I choose, I plan to work in a community where I am best able to use my skillset to serve, whether that be in underserved and rural areas or more urban communities. As a kid, I showed a strong interest towards biology, and can recall the excitement and curiosity I had dissecting a fetal pig in elementary school. While my brothers and sisters struggled with this dissect, my fascination sparked as I analyzed the inter-complexity of the organs and muscles of the body. Throughout college, my passion for science grew through challenging courses and my independent research project, however, I realized that I sought a career outside of sole research. Growing up, I have always showed an interest towards helping others and providing them with care. Through my numerous volunteer activities and being able to coach and care for individuals that have special needs, I have realized that I seek a career where I am able to incorporate my passion for science and medicine with directly interacting and serving others. This is what draws me towards a career in medicine as a physician. Most recently, I have been able to work as a chief scribe, which has given me the opportunity to shadow numerous influential physicians and allowed me to confirm that a career in medicine is what I desire. It is a field that fits with my values, interests, skills, and desire to help care for others.
What do you feel is the purpose of Medical School?
The purpose of medical school is to provide students, future doctors, the necessary tools, technical skills, and training needed to practice medicine. It prepares students to be inquisitive, well-rounded, and compassionate.
Describe your style of communicating and interacting with others. Give an example of a situation in which you had to utilize effective interpersonal skills.
I have always been very quiet, and because of this, people may think that I am very passive or submissive. However, I find that I most effectively communicate and interact with others is through taking the time to really listen to them and allow them to express their emotions, thoughts, and concerns, before I respond with my thoughts and ideas. For me, this prevents many conflicts that could have risen from miscommunications. I have had to use interpersonal skills in school, work, and volunteer situations. Perhaps, the most recent situation in which I have had to use interpersonal skills is as a Chief Scribe.
(need example)
This style of communicating has allowed me to build strong relationships and levels of trust with those I interact with. It allows us to work best as team and reach our collective goals.
Describe a situation in which you were dependable or demonstrated initiative. Describe a situation in which you were not a dependable as you would have liked.
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What experiences have you had working with diverse populations?
In my current role as a volunteer figure skating coach for therapeutic skating, I have not only been blessed with the ability to work with men, women, and children of ethnically and culturally diverse backgrounds, but also with individuals who have varying special needs. When coaching such diverse individuals, I have been able to experience first hand the special skills that each individual is able to bring to the world. Many of my students have unique skills and talents that I will never be able to do.
How do you handle stress?
I tend to deal with stress by breaking a stressful situations down into more manageable pieces. When looking at a situation, I am able to identify parts in which I have control to change and parts that are out of my control. In recognizing this, I am able to eliminate unnecessary stress and be able to focus towards the situations I am able to control and helps me from becoming overwhelmed.
Take care of myself, eat healthy exercise, and use a schedule to ensure everything is getting done.
From what you understand about medical school, what part of the program will be most difficult for you.
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If you were any cookie, what cookie would you be?
I’d be a chocolate chip cookie. Because who doesn’t like a classic chocolate chip cookie?
Describe how you can effectively deal with someone in crisis.
One of my natural tendencies is to listen attentively to others and then put myself into another person’s position. When dealing with someone in crisis, I use the information I know about them, the cues they are giving to me to determine what they need. In every situation of crisis, there are factors one has control over, and factors that you don’t have control over. I first like to listen to the person and figure out what the problem is. Then I break this problem down into more manageable pieces. This then allows me to act upon the parts I have control of and make the necessary changes needed to help the person in crisis.
What was your favorite college course and why?
Most of my favorite courses have been science courses, such as embryology, neuroscience, and microbiology. These are classes that fueled my love for science and pushed me to pursue independent research in college. But it is hard for me to name one science course. But a course that stood out the most to me would actually have been Political Science. This was a very challenging course, that pushed us to think about what we are reading and integrate these findings into our current day situations. Because of this course, I have a new, deeper and multidimensional understanding of the political system that I couldn’t have acquired without the insight of my instructor and peers.
What do you hope to gain from this experience? (medical school)
During medical school, I hope to acquire the knowledge that will be the foundation upon which I practice medicine. For me this not only means a deep understanding of the sciences, but also an understanding of caring for people. In medical school, you are surrounded by individuals who all decided to pursue the same path, but for different reasons, and therefore bring unique experiences and opinions. I anticipate the life-long relationships that I will be able to form with my peers.
Describe your style of interacting with others.
I have always been very quiet, and because of this, people may think that I am very passive or submissive. However, I find that I most effectively communicate and interact with others is through taking the time to really listen to them and allow them to express their emotions, thoughts, and concerns, before I respond with my thoughts and ideas. For me, this prevents many conflicts that could have risen from miscommunications. I have had to use interpersonal skills in school, work, and volunteer situations. Perhaps, the most recent situation in which I have had to use interpersonal skills is as a Chief Scribe.
(need example)
This style of communicating has allowed me to build strong relationships and levels of trust with those I interact with. It allows us to work best as team and reach our collective goals.
Tell me about a time when you demonstrated initiative.
Three months after starting my job as a medical scribe, my supervisor, the chief scribe, unexpectedly needed to resign from his position. Prior to his resignation, he offered me the opportunity to interview for his position. Eagerly I applied, interviewed, and obtained this position of management. In such a short time I had taken on the additional responsibilities of ensuring quality metrics at our site, hiring and training new scribes, and holding regular scribe meetings. This was a big step of initiative for me, as I quickly took on these responsibilities and now was the leader of a team I had previously acted with in a non-managerial position.
Tell me about a time when you faced a conflict or anger with another individual.
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Tell me about a time when you were criticized unfairly.
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Tell me about a time when you failed.
Like anyone, I’ve had setbacks in my lifetime. While failure is not pleasant, I have learned that you have to pick yourself up from these setbacks and continue moving forward. Failure is a learning process. A time of failure I recall occurred freshman year, when I was overconfident in one of my classes. Despite the exam being open book, I performed poorly on my first exam, as I believed the exam would be easy, and failed to devote the time needed to studying the exam material. Being a straight A student in high school, this served as a wake up call to me. I turned this time of failure as a learning opportunity. From that test on, I studied harder, prepared for tests in the future, stayed organized, and set goals and plans to achieve these goals. With hard work, I passed the remaining quizzes and exams in the class and passed the class with an A. This failure helped me realize the need to change my habits, and set the foundation for how I prepared for classes throughout the rest of my undergraduate education and allowed me to excel in those classes. My failure allowed me the opportunity to reflect upon my mistakes, learn from those mistakes, and make corrections that would propel me forward.
How do you handle failure?
I see failure as being an opportunity to learn from one’s mistakes, recognize the necessary changes needed, and implementing those changes so that you grow from one’s failures, so that in the future, you avoid making the same mistake again. When I encounter a setback in my life, I take time after the initial shock, to reflect on why I encountered this set back. I then make changes that allow me from making these same mistakes in the future.
Tell me about a time when you’ve been disappointed in a teammate or fellow group member. What happened? How did you approach this situation.
One morning I was awoken by a call from my office manager, informing me that a scribe failed to show to their shift and the provider was struggling to chart his notes without falling behind. As the chief scribe, it was my responsibility to ensure our companies goal that every provider had a scribe for their office shifts, and this open shift me feel as though I was failing in my responsibilities. I apologized to the provider and office manager for this open shift and immediately drove to the office to work the remainder of this shift.
Afterwards, I privately held a meeting with this scribe. I used this time to understand why he had not shown to his shift. We addressed the importance of showing up to shifts, as it not only affected our company and team goal, but it ensured the physicians were able to provide the best, focused care to their patients. I then helped this scribe set several-short term, achievable goals for behavioral changes, and monitored this scribe’s progress. In his remaining time with our company, this scribe became more dependable and contributed to our team goals.
How do you handle change?
I am a very schedule-orientated person, and often develop my plans weeks ahead. However, as a chief medical scribe, I frequently have to handle change. Providers often change their schedules last minute, and add on additional shifts after I have finalized our scribe schedule. This causes me to have to find coverage, through other scribes or even having to alter my own schedule to provide shift coverage. Change can often become a stressful situation.
I like to to see myself as a person that handles change relatively well. When I encounter these situations, I break the situation into situations I am able to control and those I am unable to control. Once I realize these things, I make the necessary adjustments needed to reach a positive outcome. I have found this is the best way to manage the changes in my life while minimizing the stress that abounds with changes.
How do you go about making important decisions?
I see myself as being both a systematic and creative person. As a person who thrives in structured environments, when a decision needs to be made, I break apart each factor and strategically develop potential solutions and outcomes. I like to weigh the pros, cons, and associated outcomes with potential decisions. Should time allow, I will even consult with peers for their opinions, as they may have undergone similar experiences. I recognize though that there are times when one is unable to consult with others, and that is when I make a decision that maximizes the benefits and minimizes the risks. I would stick with my gut feeling.
If you could start your college career all over again, what would you do differently?
I think what I regret most in college is not interacting with my peers in my classes earlier on. I was very serious about school and was afraid that studying in groups would be unproductive. After encountering difficult classes junior year and realizing that I did not fully understand the class material, I began with class members and study the material together. I quickly learned that I really enjoyed studying in groups, as I benefitted from having things explained to me through a different approach as well as being able to reciprocate that and teach others on materials they were having difficulty understanding. These study groups, not only helped prevent burnout during stressful times of the year, but it allowed me to spark friendships with my peers. Outside of the classroom, we often would get together as a study group for extracurricular activities or dinner.
What were your most memorable accomplishments in your college career?
My most memorable accomplishment in college has been gaining the respect of professors I greatly admire. My first two years, I was a really good student, and I got to know some of my professors well as I utilized office hours and was active in asking questions. However, during my junior and senior years, I became heavily involved in some of the research that my professors had been working on. I started working one-on-one with Dr. Essig, to analyze an unknown microorganism and determine its role of chirality within nature. Under his guidance, he allowed me to take ownership of this project, in which I designed and performed tests and made great strides in identifying this bacterium. He often told me how happy he was with my hard work ethic and thoroughness in this project. It feels like a huge accomplishment to have gained his trust and respect.
Another accomplishment for me in college was graduating Summa Cum Laude in my class and receiving the medical career scholarship. Having been homeschooled and cyber schooled, I was worried freshman year how my transition to a classroom setting would be. Despite these changes, I thrived at college. I pushed through the challenges of transitioning to a campus, and excelled in my classes. I admire my accomplishments, as my hard work, perseverance, and dedication paid off.
What does the word “success” mean to you?
For me, there will not be a single moment that I can identify as being the ultimate success. I feel that success is completing a task that moves you forward toward’s reaching your goals, and knowing that you have completed this task to the best of one’s ability. My ultimate goal is to be able to use my skills and passion for science to help others. I intend to have many minor successes along the way. Getting into medical school will be a success, graduating will be another, completing residency with be another success towards allowing me to continue helping each person throughout my entire continue.
What attracted you to this program
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