Personal Questions Flashcards
ABOUT YOU!
Why do you want to be a doctor?
The reason for wanting to become a doctor really comes down to my life experiences and what I have learnt about the profession the more interested I got. My grandma, who lives in Argentina, has had many health problems for as long as I could remember, and she always seemed to surpass them. One day she would be at the hospital and she would have to stay for some days but she would always come back home and be her normal cheerful self, I always thought how amazing it was that she always was able to fight what was happening to her despite her age. I also started realizing the older I got, that some of my friends grandparents unfortunately that had similar conditions would not make it sadly, and I render I stated to think just how lucky I was that my grandma was still with us but also why she was still with us, what was different about her mind or her body that made her always make comeback? so I found that question very intriguing.that was kind of the gateway into my passion for the sciences. When we moved to Canada, and I started high school in classes I was always most interested in the sciences – ask questions. specifically biology. We learned about genetics in grade 9 and I loved it. I started thinking back to the times in Argentina with my grandma and if genetics Maybe had a role in my grandmas health life. and that year it was actually one of my teachers that recommended me to a program that ran in Vancouver called mini med school that is a program for students interested in studying medicine, and that particular year the topics were Neuroscience and genetics, It sounded really interesting so I ended up singing up and I had a great time. I learned a lot new things and I met many other people who were passionate about the same topics as I was, some senior students who were applying for school at the time and as well as we got to meet some incredible doctors that told us about their experience with medicine and I felt very honoured to be there and have had the chance to ask questions. By the end of the day that day I was feeling pretty confident that medicine would be a career path for me. something that also enforced this idea was when I started to volunteer at my local hospital in the nursing home. I spend hours there weekly helping out nurses deliver foods for the residents and just organizing activities and simply being there in company for them. knowing that I was contributing and making a difference in the lives of these residents even if it is a little one where had simple conversations with them really made me feel fufilled by the end of the shifts. seeing how the nurses around us volunteers worked so hard and were so caring to the residents is always great to see and it makes me want to do the same thing.
Why medicine and not nursing?
While nurses are amazing and I believe that without them doctors would not be Able To do what they do because nurses are such an important part of the multi-disciplinary team and have a crucial role in patient care, I believe doctors are more on the management side of patient care, where they might work and communicate with different doctors to understand at certain level what type of medication should be prescribed for specific people depending on the symptoms that they demonstrate. and while nurses are also very understanding of pharmacology and are able to make decisions, at the end of the day doctors are who make the ultimate decision when it comes to patient care. And I’m personally someone who really values that and a quality that comes with being a doctor is problem solving. and I think this is a disguising factor between a nurse and a doctor. you know as a doctor you are really piecing together a puzzle to figure out the proper diagnosis and treatment that a patient needs. You could have many diagnosis in mind because they hare similar symptoms but it all comes down to narrowing down by for example running tests and using critical thinking to be Able to come up with an answer that best suits the patient you are helping. and I truly love the idea of being able to do that and sort of take a leadership role within the mdt where I am using my problem solving skills. another thing that comes to mind is the level of clinical expertise between nurses and doctors.
As a physician you get to go through medical school and once graduated you have a level of knowledge which a little about everything, and although you can specilize you still have that sort of base knowledge and that is something I want to pursue because I think medicine is really a fascinating subject and acquiring that multitude of knowledge of a little about everything is very appealing even though there is always more to learn.
why this university?
I actually know a student who studies there at Queens, I believe she is already starting her second year or third year, she was from my city, but she recommended me to this school and I started researching and I found that Queens had a really good medical program in which there is early clinical contact with patients right in first year, there are whole body dissections which I know that not every UK medical school does. I was also very attracted to the case-based learning style where students are engaged in and apply their knowledge to different real-world scenarios, and I think that is an interesting and engaging way to learn new material. I also know that Queens offers the options to do an exchange abroad while studying and has global opportunities and that is one of the biggest factors that attracts me to this school just because I also love to travel.
give an example where you played an effective role as a team player
- organizing activities like bingo every Wednesday at my volunteering. we all come together to get residents to participate and we Bring them down to the mains along downstairs.
- we volunteers have also organized a Christmas light show before Christmas for the residents, and we set up hot chocolate stations, a fire pit for roasting marshmallows, handed to some treats and we sang carols. Using the skills of team work and communication new here Able to have an awesome evening and create something fun for the residents during for the holidays. I think that as a physician it is so important to value the skills of working as team, most importantly being a part of the MDI, because one sometimes cannot do it all alone.
disadvantages and advantages of working in a team
- as a team able to gain different ideas
- may be able to achieve more using everyone’s strengths and you can learn from others as well
disadvantages;
- too much input at the same time can be confusing and could lead to potential conflicts as everyone has different opinions and ways of doing things
- I think that if there isn’t a strong leader sometimes the group can fall off as there may not be a set plan to follow and get things done.
describe a time where you displayed leadership skills. what attributes does a good leader have?
- school leadership club
- organizing school dances
- leader of decorating committee
- organized who was going to get what and where
- put groups together to take on parts of the cafeteria to decorate
- In this role I had to be open-minded and a good listener as I heard other peoples ideas and incorporated them into the organizing and decorating. I do believe that by hearing and involving others in the large group that we had it sort of gave everyone a motivation to do what we had to do because everyone could participate, not just because I was leader meant that it was all my way you know. and I tried my best to communicate effectively to make sure that things were going to get done and that we would have the place ready come dance day. I think those three main points are very important attributes, being a good listener, being open-minded and having good communication skills.
how have you developed your communication skills?
volunteer at a nursing home at my local hospital and my role there is to basically provide good company to the residents and organize activities for them. And my time there has taught the value of having good communication skills and has helped me develop them quite a lot. Especially when interacting with the residents who some might have some hearing impairments and it can be hard to understand one another. But I try to not let that be barrier. But communicating clearly and being able to build trust and bring support through words is very important to me in my volunteering, it just help me connect with the people there more and leave a positive impact when the volunteers are gone. I believe communication is key in medicine once agin to be able to speak clearly about what is going on, translating medical knowledge into something that anyone can understand and building that trust with a patient if there is poor communication with your doctor I would assume that the patient would lose trust over time and that can be more harmful than good to them an to their doctor as well.
medicine is a difficult and stressful subject to study. how do you deal with stress?
Right now In school I am taking a bunch of science curses and die to our school system switching to linear now its definitely been a lot of workload and a bit stressful, but I do have some extracurricular activities that help me cope with the academic stress. I participate in cross country and track and field at my school and outside of school, and I do it because I love running. When I am running it clears my mind and it makes me feel light and weight free. And after my runs I always feel proud of myself and it feels really good. I also spend a lot of time reading and painting and hanging out with my friends those are sort of my hobbies at home and outside of home, they take my mind somewhere else and give me a break from my stresses. After I do them I feel renewed and ready to tackle work again and it really does help me perform better because I am regulating my stress and not letting it get the best of me.
what makes you think you have what it takes to study such a hard subject?
I believe I am generally a very passionate and hardworking person. and I’ve found this out throughout my years in school and in my sport. In school I have always seen that If put in effort into my work, it would always bring me good results so I learnt to always give it my best. Even if I did not achieve what I was hoping for, for example in chemistry one of my final exam marks was not what I was aiming for at all, and it ended up affecting my overall grade by a bit. And so even though I was a bit upset I decided I would try again and see if I could improve from my mistakes. So I signed up to retake my exam and I studied the material all over again and dealt with the things that went wrong and once I retook I was able to bump up my grade in the class overall since I ended up doing way better than I expected the second time. and so that really showed me that when you put in the hard work, and you don’t give up, and you have that perservarace you can achieve what you want to achieve. I have always thought that sometimes it is not just about intelligence but it is also about perseverance and determination when it come to anything in life not just academics. In cross country I trained really hard all season to improve my pace and speed in hopes that I would reach provincials and after months I did and It felt really rewarding, and I would do it all over again. part of getting to a provincial championship was also discipline because it was definitely hard running in winter weather here in Canada but I was able to pull though.
what are your strengths and weaknesses?
strengths:
- perseverance , hard-working, passionate
- helps me stay focused and achieve my goals such as in school and in my sport
weaknesses
- high exceptions for myself
- over-thinking
- doesn’t help me when I try to push myself to the limit, can cause burnout, and life is not perfect so things don’t always turn out how ones want them to, but I can also view this a strength because in a way it pushes me to strive for greatness. and overthinking is one of my weaknesses which I have been improving over time, it just causes me unwanted stress most often for no reason so I have been improving on it by letting things flow more and understanding that there are things I can control and things I can’t. - mindfulness
what are some of the important qualities needed in a good decision-maker? why is decision-making important in medicine?
- problem solving and critical thinking
important because you need to be able to factor out different viewpoints in order to make a thoughtful decision. it is also good to view things from a neutral and non-emotional standpoint and so this may take some critical thinking in order to make the best decision possible. - reasoning
its good to take point of all the advantages and disadvantages of possible solutions before making a decision.
decision making is very important in medicine because making good decisions ensures that you and your doctor are making the decisions together that are right for you, and essentially decisions can alter patients lives.
tell me about a time where you demonstrated empathy.
- volunteering in nursing home
- understanding the residents feelings of being stuck and bored, especially for the holidays
-organized Christmas activities
what have you done t show that you are suitable to be a doctor?
- have taken the time to understand what medicine truly is
- i have enthusiasm for the sciences, especially biology where I put my critical thinking skills to use and enjoy it in the process
- I have involved myself in my community ad local hospital where I am in a health-care setting, and it has helped me understand the importance of good communication, hardworking and responsibility and has further developed my empathy and leadership skills. it has also given me a viewpoint into what it is like to work in healthcare and the positive change that once can have on peoples lives, it has made me realize that I want to do that as well.
