Sample Interview Questions Flashcards
What’s your story?
From Michigan, not from a family of doctor. Studied History, French language and literature. Took a round-about way into medicine. I worked as an EMT in college,
Tell me about yourself
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What kind of things do you like to do for fun?
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Tell me about (random thing on CV)
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Ten years from now, what do you see yourself doing?
I hope to be working at a level one trauma center doing IR. in an academic setting. Some of the things I like most about radiology are its hands-on nature and IR embodies that. I also really liked breast imaging which was very patient centered, similar to IR. I say I want to be in an academic center, but most of my experiences have been in an academic-community hybrid hospital. I think
How did you become interested in medicine
I became in
When and how did you decide to become a (blank)
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What are you looking forward to most in residency? The least?
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What was your most memorable patient?
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Why this program?
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What are you looking for in a program?
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What fellowship do you want to do?
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What has been your biggest disappointment in medicine?
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How do you think the changes in health care policy will affect you in the future?
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Describe a disappointing event in your life and how you coped with it?
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What did you find hard during medical school?
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What would you say is your greatest strength?
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What would you say is your greatest weakness?
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Tell me about a time when you made a choice that ended with a good result.
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Tell me about a time when you made a choice that ended with a bad result.
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What accomplishment are you most proud of that’s non-academic?
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When you look back at your career, how will you be able to tell if you were successful?
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What person have you met in medical school who has inspired you?
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What do you want me to know about you that didn’t fit in your application?
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Tell me about a situation in which you have had to work with someone you didn’t like. How did you handle it?
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Tell me about an ethical dilemma you experienced as medical student.
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What do you think we should look for in our applicants?
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Tell me about your best and worst residents.
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What do you think is the biggest health issue in America today?
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What do you want me to remember about you at the end of this interview?
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How would your best friend describe you?
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Describe your ideal day.
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Tell me about a time someone on your team was not pulling their own weight?
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If you were chief resident on a service and one of your interns forgot to or just didn’t place an order which compromised patient care, how would you handle the situation with the faculty who expects the order to be completed, and how would you address the intern?
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If you could have dinner with any 3 cardiothoracic surgeons, dead or alive, who would they be and what are their greatest contributions to the field?
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How do you know that you have the hand skills to be a good surgeon?
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Who is Brad Aust?
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Ortho trauma is a very busy service. How are you sure you can handle it?
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What is your class rank?
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Tell me about medicine in your country.
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What is something unique about you that will help me remember you amongst the other applicants?
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Can you explain any small problems on your application that could bring you down on our rank list so that I can explain it to the committee?
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Tell me your impression of this program
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What are the CXR findings in heart failure?
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Tell me you how you work up a GI bleeder
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Describe the technique for putting in an arterial line.
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Tell me how you would work someone up for chest pain.
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A colectomy patient becomes tachycardic the night after the operation. All other vitals are normal. What is your immediate workup and differential?
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You are interested in [X] research. We don’t have any active projects like that. What are your research plans if you come here?
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Why Radiology?
I choose radiology for a lot of reasons.
- Unique opportunity of doing radiology at the very beginning of 3rd year and I just thought it was a lot of fun.
- Every imaging study felt like a puzzle that needed to be solved and I really enjoyed that.
- I also had the opportunity to watch a lot of image-guided procedures which I impressed by. I was also surprised by the hands-on nature of even diagnostic radiology.
- Later in my third year I did two weeks of breast imaging, which I really enjoyed. It showed me how patient-centered radiology can be. I also enjoyed the hands-on aspect of that specialty.
- This year I completed a radiology-pathology correlation rotation. This rotation really highlighted the relationships radiologists have with other clinicians. I enjoyed being a part of this collaborative approach to patient care.
Bottom line: I think solving diagnostic puzzle is fun, I like the hands-on nature of the field, and I like how collaborative it is.
Say something in french:
Bonjour, je m’appelle Melissa. J’adore la radiologie!
The results of your test are normal/abnormal (in French)
Les résultats de vos tests sont normaux/anormaux
Call the office please (in French)
Appelez le bureau, s’il vous plaît.
Favorite French authors:
Marcel Proust, Albert Camus, Jean-Paul Sartre
Opening line of L’etranger
Aujourd’hui, maman est morte. (Today, mom is dead.)
What are your hobbies?
A TON:
- French literature and cooking
- competitive gymnastics
- electric guitar
- painting
- darkroom-developed photography
- knitting
What’s something you want us to know that’s not on your application? Radiology.
Married, have a 4 year old son.
Favorite french food dish?
Julia Child’s Fondue de poulet a la creme
How did you get involved in Philosophy research?
Joint project I’m working on with someone I know from college. He had initially contacted me to help him understand some medical jargon. We got to talking - thought it would be fun to write a paper together as an offshoot of his PhD dissertation (in the philosophy of language).
Our paper discusses the the language of philosophy within the context of Bioethics.
- My role: help with the literature review. Help my partner understand some of the medical jargon.
- We’re using the concept of ontology (the idea of being, or existence) to expand upon the concept of human dignity in end of life care.
Eventually plan to submit the paper to a Bioethics journal, with the help of our advisor (Dr. Kirk Ludwig).
What are your strengths
I’m adaptable, which is one of the reasons I think radiology is a good fit for me.
What are your weaknesses?
Bring work home with me.
