Maddiestanford
Member
Hi,
I was looking at the the "prepare ME!" article and was hoping someone could look over some of my answers for the sample questions? I'm obviously not going to memorise answers... I just wrote down what I was thinking while I answered the question aloud. I just want feedback on the general gist of my answers - I didn't do very well at my interview last year so any feedback would be much appreciated.
1) Introduction - who are you? where do you come from?
Hi, I’m Maddie. I’m 18 and am currently studying a Bachelor of Science at the University of Queensland. I’d like to think I’m a friendly person. For example, I volunteer at my local nursing home because I just love being able to chat with the patients – the patient’s get company and I get to meet really interesting people, it’s great! My friends and family would describe me as determined. Whether it be academically or in a personal sense, if I’m really passionate about something I will give it my all. Throughout high school I studied very hard but I also loved to pursue other interests like rowing and debating. Debating and Medicine have always been my passion and I love to challenge myself so when I was in Grade 11 I studied at the University of Cambridge for 6 weeks; I majored in Medicine and the Brain and minored in Speech and Debate. I think that that experience has had a very profound effect on me. I’m certainly a much more confident person now but I’m also more intellectually curious than ever. I’m confident that I really do want to study Medicine so I know whether it be undergraduate or once I’ve completed a degree, Medicine is going to be a big part of my future.
2) Reflective Questions - what is your greatest weakness?
I would have to say my greatest weakness is probably that I can get too emotionally involved. For example, I volunteered for a charity while I was in England which does peer counselling. Under a supervisor I would meet with disadvantaged teens every week and discuss what was happening in their life. I realised that I was getting so emotionally involved with these people that whenever something bad happened in their life I wouldn't just empathise with them and try and offer advice but I'd actually get extremely distressed because I cared so much about them. I realise that empathy is one of my strengths, but I do think that being too emotionally involved is actually a problem. I'm working on improving on this by trying to remind myself that I can best help people if I don't become overly emotioally involved but rather empathise and assess the situation from a third party view.
3) Dealing with Adversity - what is the most awful thing that has happened to you?
Unfortunately, the most awful thing to happen to me actually occured this year. I was a victim of a violent crime in October and since then have struggled with PTSD. I was hospitalised for 6 weeks and had an awful time - I was confused about my feelings, worried about how my family were coping and scared that I might be too "weak" to move forward with my life. It was a very fustrating and challenging time but I think I've learnt a lot from it. I've learnt that I'm a much stronger and more capable person then I thought and, I'm very happy to say, I actually feel like I'm now in a better place then before the incident. Through the whole process I also learnt a lot of practical ways for dealing with stress and adversity, like mindfulness, realistic goal setting and deep breathing, that I'm sure will be useful for me in both my personal and academic future!
4) Teamwork/Conflict Resolution - how would you deal with someone who wasn't working as a team?
In this situation I would speak to the team member directly. I would approach the conversation with an open mind and friendliness - it is entirely possible that this person has a legitimate reason for not contributing to the group as much as desired so I would want to try and find out WHY this is happening before I went any further. First off, I would ask the person how they thought they were working in the group. If they acknowledged that they hadn't been contributing as much as they should be I would appreciate their honesty and awareness. If they had a legitimate reason for this, e.g. a family issue or overloading etc, I would offer them more support (whether that be in the form of helping them organise their time or discussing their ideas for the group with them). If they merely didn't want to contribute to the group, or thought they were contributing enough, I would encourage them to reconsider their involvment for both their own and mutual benefit. I would explain that they can learn a lot from group work but also everyone else in the group can learn a lot from their contribution - it's in everyone's best interest if they are an active member of the group.
5) Motivation/ Why do you want to do medicine?/ why us?
I have a spent a very long time deciding what I want to do with the rest of my professional life. It was a challenging question but after a lot of deliberation I've come to the conclusion that medicine is really what I want to do. There are a number of things that attract me to the medicine but I think the main reasons would be the challenging nature, the interaction involved and the opportunity to make a positive and meaningful difference. I love that medicine is gauranteed to be challenging; it's clearly not a black and white profession. I read in a medical journal that medicine is one of the only fields were people typically work past the age of retirement and it made me wonder whether that's because being challenged is so addictive and thrilling! The opportunity for life long learning and development is also very enticing because one of my personal goals is to always be improving myself. I'm a very friendly person so the opportunity to meet a wide range of people from all different demographics is very important to me. Beyond that, being able to use my skills and education to give back to the community, whether that be volunteering at a clinic or working in a rural area, is a big deciding factor in my decision. It's this challenging nature of the profession and community focus that makes me so adament that I want to pursure medicine.
Thank you in advance for any feedback!!
I was looking at the the "prepare ME!" article and was hoping someone could look over some of my answers for the sample questions? I'm obviously not going to memorise answers... I just wrote down what I was thinking while I answered the question aloud. I just want feedback on the general gist of my answers - I didn't do very well at my interview last year so any feedback would be much appreciated.
1) Introduction - who are you? where do you come from?
Hi, I’m Maddie. I’m 18 and am currently studying a Bachelor of Science at the University of Queensland. I’d like to think I’m a friendly person. For example, I volunteer at my local nursing home because I just love being able to chat with the patients – the patient’s get company and I get to meet really interesting people, it’s great! My friends and family would describe me as determined. Whether it be academically or in a personal sense, if I’m really passionate about something I will give it my all. Throughout high school I studied very hard but I also loved to pursue other interests like rowing and debating. Debating and Medicine have always been my passion and I love to challenge myself so when I was in Grade 11 I studied at the University of Cambridge for 6 weeks; I majored in Medicine and the Brain and minored in Speech and Debate. I think that that experience has had a very profound effect on me. I’m certainly a much more confident person now but I’m also more intellectually curious than ever. I’m confident that I really do want to study Medicine so I know whether it be undergraduate or once I’ve completed a degree, Medicine is going to be a big part of my future.
2) Reflective Questions - what is your greatest weakness?
I would have to say my greatest weakness is probably that I can get too emotionally involved. For example, I volunteered for a charity while I was in England which does peer counselling. Under a supervisor I would meet with disadvantaged teens every week and discuss what was happening in their life. I realised that I was getting so emotionally involved with these people that whenever something bad happened in their life I wouldn't just empathise with them and try and offer advice but I'd actually get extremely distressed because I cared so much about them. I realise that empathy is one of my strengths, but I do think that being too emotionally involved is actually a problem. I'm working on improving on this by trying to remind myself that I can best help people if I don't become overly emotioally involved but rather empathise and assess the situation from a third party view.
3) Dealing with Adversity - what is the most awful thing that has happened to you?
Unfortunately, the most awful thing to happen to me actually occured this year. I was a victim of a violent crime in October and since then have struggled with PTSD. I was hospitalised for 6 weeks and had an awful time - I was confused about my feelings, worried about how my family were coping and scared that I might be too "weak" to move forward with my life. It was a very fustrating and challenging time but I think I've learnt a lot from it. I've learnt that I'm a much stronger and more capable person then I thought and, I'm very happy to say, I actually feel like I'm now in a better place then before the incident. Through the whole process I also learnt a lot of practical ways for dealing with stress and adversity, like mindfulness, realistic goal setting and deep breathing, that I'm sure will be useful for me in both my personal and academic future!
4) Teamwork/Conflict Resolution - how would you deal with someone who wasn't working as a team?
In this situation I would speak to the team member directly. I would approach the conversation with an open mind and friendliness - it is entirely possible that this person has a legitimate reason for not contributing to the group as much as desired so I would want to try and find out WHY this is happening before I went any further. First off, I would ask the person how they thought they were working in the group. If they acknowledged that they hadn't been contributing as much as they should be I would appreciate their honesty and awareness. If they had a legitimate reason for this, e.g. a family issue or overloading etc, I would offer them more support (whether that be in the form of helping them organise their time or discussing their ideas for the group with them). If they merely didn't want to contribute to the group, or thought they were contributing enough, I would encourage them to reconsider their involvment for both their own and mutual benefit. I would explain that they can learn a lot from group work but also everyone else in the group can learn a lot from their contribution - it's in everyone's best interest if they are an active member of the group.
5) Motivation/ Why do you want to do medicine?/ why us?
I have a spent a very long time deciding what I want to do with the rest of my professional life. It was a challenging question but after a lot of deliberation I've come to the conclusion that medicine is really what I want to do. There are a number of things that attract me to the medicine but I think the main reasons would be the challenging nature, the interaction involved and the opportunity to make a positive and meaningful difference. I love that medicine is gauranteed to be challenging; it's clearly not a black and white profession. I read in a medical journal that medicine is one of the only fields were people typically work past the age of retirement and it made me wonder whether that's because being challenged is so addictive and thrilling! The opportunity for life long learning and development is also very enticing because one of my personal goals is to always be improving myself. I'm a very friendly person so the opportunity to meet a wide range of people from all different demographics is very important to me. Beyond that, being able to use my skills and education to give back to the community, whether that be volunteering at a clinic or working in a rural area, is a big deciding factor in my decision. It's this challenging nature of the profession and community focus that makes me so adament that I want to pursure medicine.
Thank you in advance for any feedback!!