Med/Dent Interview Preparation

[Crow]

If I've already set my set my back up plan in place by finishing my nursing degree and working at Emergency Department. Can I still say if I don't get into medicine than I will continue with my career as it's the closest it gets to with my passion as for me caring and helping individuals especially at their most vulnerable state provides me inner peace. Will it be considered short-sighted if I state receiving feedback from university and work on towards my weakness by researching and attending appropriate classes to increase my mark?

I'm not an interviewer, but that would be completely reasonable as you clearly have an alternate career path and relevant experience in healthcare. As long as you can articulate why you are pursuing medicine (i.e. what medicine has to offer to you that nursing doesn't) then that should be all you need to say!

 

[Rawa]

I live in Townsville and I am interested to do an interview preparation. Do you run interview PD at Townsville?

 

[Crow]

I live in Townsville and I am interested to do an interview preparation. Do you run interview PD at Townsville?

MSO doesn’t run interview preparation sessions, sorry.

 

[123456....]

What’s everyone’s thoughts on interviews and tattoos. Should they be covered up for the interview even if they are small?

 

[Crow]

What’s everyone’s thoughts on interviews and tattoos. Should they be covered up for the interview even if they are small?

Disclaimer: I am not an interviewer.

Dress code (and by extension presence/absence of tattoos) definitely won’t be a part of the assessment criteria, so you shouldn’t be penalised for having them on show. However, for the sake of professionalism, you may wish to cover them up if possible - while not an interview requirement, this may be a requirement in your future workplace.

 

[Banji]

Oh and BTW for everyone who requested the prep

Please don't monetize the information. These were obtained from other people that have shared their questions and full credit for the information goes to them. After your interviews you can do one of three things.

1. Throw it out
2. Pass it on to others appropriately
3. Reuse them for personal use (which I hope doesnt occur)

Skarzin, Could you please send me the interview prep material you have?I'm planning to do interviews in 2019. Thanks heaps.

 

[A100]

Hi Skarzin, just wondering you could kind enough to share your interview prep material as I am also preparing for my interview for 2019. Many thanks.

 

[kumquat999]

How is everyone prepping for interviews? I’m an extreme stutterer who blanks out a lot under pressure so I’m kinda panicking atm... would a med interview private tutor help?

 

[Crow]

How is everyone prepping for interviews? I’m an extreme stutterer who blanks out a lot under pressure so I’m kinda panicking atm... would a med interview private tutor help?

Peer preparation is definitely the best way to go, in my opinion. Practising in a group, or at least with one other person, is a great way to receive feedback on your responses, get used to answering interview style questions and hear other perspectives on the topic that you hadn’t considered. While practising in a group can be nerve wracking at first, I found it invaluable myself. I think it will definitely help with the blanking out part and help with timing etc too.

I don’t believe a private tutor is worth it or necessary myself when there are so many people and resources out there for free, but others may be of another opinion.

 

[whoartthou]

How is everyone prepping for interviews? I’m an extreme stutterer who blanks out a lot under pressure so I’m kinda panicking atm... would a med interview private tutor help?

Having been a previous medical program interviewer let me give you my 2 cents on this.
After seeing actual students go through the interview process can all of them be improved? Yes they can be improved and some drastically.
I would disagree with Crow saying a private tutor is not worth it. Medical interviews can make up to 100% of your entrance criteria. If you think back to how many students spend thousands of dollars in tutoring for the HSC it doesn't make any logical sense for you not to at least consider investing in a "good" interview tutor. I use the term "good" loosely because many tutors in this area lack experience and offer pretty mediocre advice.
Also having an experienced tutor give feedback is crucially important as many students do not know how interviewers perceive certain answers. It's almost like the blind leading the blind. The next best thing is to ask a medical professional to listen to your answers as a lot of the ethical scenarios are based off ethics tutorials taught in medical school. I was lucky enough to get a renowned neurosurgeon to mentor me for my interview. The experience was invaluable and significantly improved my answers as without it, I probably would not have made it.

 

[Kale]

Having been a previous medical program interviewer let me give you my 2 cents on this.
After seeing actual students go through the interview process can all of them be improved? Yes they can be improved and some drastically.
I would disagree with Crow saying a private tutor is not worth it. Medical interviews can make up to 100% of your entrance criteria. If you think back to how many students spend thousands of dollars in tutoring for the HSC it doesn't make any logical sense for you not to at least consider investing in a "good" interview tutor. I use the term "good" loosely because many tutors in this area lack experience and offer pretty mediocre advice.
Also having an experienced tutor give feedback is crucially important as many students do not know how interviewers perceive certain answers. It's almost like the blind leading the blind. The next best thing is to ask a medical professional to listen to your answers as a lot of the ethical scenarios are based off ethics tutorials taught in medical school. I was lucky enough to get a renowned neurosurgeon to mentor me for my interview. The experience was invaluable and significantly improved my answers as without it, I probably would not have made it.

Can someone please recommend some good private tutors?

 

[whoartthou]

Can someone please recommend some good private tutors?

Sorry would recommend one if I knew one or would have been happy to help if I was still teaching. You can always ask me questions here.

 

[pi]

How is everyone prepping for interviews? I’m an extreme stutterer who blanks out a lot under pressure so I’m kinda panicking atm... would a med interview private tutor help?

Literal stuttering? Have you considered seeing a speech pathologist?

 

[whoartthou]

How is everyone prepping for interviews? I’m an extreme stutterer who blanks out a lot under pressure so I’m kinda panicking atm... would a med interview private tutor help?

Now I am using my doctor brain here. Do you stutter when you are not under pressure?
If you do then you may benefit from a speech pathologist. If you don't stutter under pressure than CBT may be of benefit and also it may be due to anxiety rather than a pathological cause for your stuttering.

Peer preparation is definitely the best way to go, in my opinion. Practising in a group, or at least with one other person, is a great way to receive feedback on your responses, get used to answering interview style questions and hear other perspectives on the topic that you hadn’t considered. While practising in a group can be nerve wracking at first, I found it invaluable myself. I think it will definitely help with the blanking out part and help with timing etc too.

I don’t believe a private tutor is worth it or necessary myself when there are so many people and resources out there for free, but others may be of another opinion.

I would agree that peer peer preparation is vitally important. However, like I mentioned earlier a lot of fellow students do not know what the interviewers actually want. That being said there isn't a "right" answer as a blanket response.
I pose the question to Crow if he/she thinks "HSC" tutoring is worth it? If you agree they aren't worth it then your comment is congruent with your beliefs. If you say HSC tutoring is required and interview tutoring isn't then I would argue you aren't being consistent with your comments. Your ATAR marks count from 0-33% of the entrance criteria for most universities. JMP counts your interview mark as 100% of the entrance criteria so investing in a bit of guidance here may help you go a long way. Unfortunately, I would have to say most tutoring courses for interview preparation is probably not well equip in that manner therefore, Crow may have that personal opinion.

As I have mentioned before as well. Even with actual interviewees to whom I gave very high scores there were elements of their interview (body language, body position, speech, content etc.) that I would recommend changing to be even better.

 

[Crow]

I didn't say interview preparation isn't worth it, I said paying for it it isn't worth it in my opinion. I don't want forum users being left with the feeling that if they can't afford or don't want to invest in an interview tutor, that they won't have any hope in gaining admission into medicine, as this is absolutely not the case.

I am one of said students who has gained admission into medicine without ever paying for tuition, and I know many others from my cohort who are the same.

Naturally as somebody who has made a business out of assisting people with interview preparation you want to derive meaning from it and of course you’re not going to turn around and say it’s not worth it. In no way did I say it wouldn’t be beneficial (if you have a good tutor then it absolutely would be - and yes, this is applies to the HSC as well) - I was indicating that one shouldn't feel obliged to fork out for a tutor when there are plenty of people and resources out there that can assist them in preparation for free.

As I said in my original post, this is simply my opinion and others are more than welcome to form their own viewpoints. I just don't want an impression created that if one doesn't pay for interview tutoring then they're out of the game.

 

[whoartthou]

I agree with your sentiment and respect your opinion. I didn't pay for interview preparation either but I was lucky enough to have a mentor.

Let me put the record straight. In no way did I suggest that interview preparation is a necessity. It's just like most things in life. Is the latest smart phone necessary? Students shouldn't feel obliged to pay for something they cannot afford. But that being said most students do not understand the value of investing in themselves (I was one of them). I have spent thousands of dollars on courses to better myself and I think that has been the best money spent (Yes that includes non-compulsory medical courses that improve my diagnostic abilities as a doctor which doesn't necessarily translate to better income). I would happily forego buying a better car to invest in myself. This attitude is imperatively important in my opinion and I would encourage students to adopt this mindset.

I would say the majority of students get into medicine without preparation and tutoring so to future students please do not feel you need a tutor to get into medicine. However, I would at the very least attempt to find a mentor and do some preparation with other students.

 

[jayson]

Hi not sure if it is right place to ask this question.

Is it good idea to get tutoring to prepare interviews?

 

[TKAO]

Hi not sure if it is right place to ask this question.

Is it good idea to get tutoring to prepare interviews?

Read comments above. Both provide equally valid perspectives on the matter. Asking again is asking to play with fire... it is a contentious topic.

 

[pokopoko99]

Hi I've got a question about interviews particularly the Unsw interview. From what I've heard the panel interview is quite open and can end up being quite personal about yourself. I feel like depending on where things go I can see myself talking to the interviewers about something quite personal that I get somewhat emotional over and could potentially tear up. Do you guys think it would be bad to 'cry' in the interview? not like full on crying but just minor red teary eyes for a couple of minutes.

 

[whoartthou]

Hi I've got a question about interviews particularly the Unsw interview. From what I've heard the panel interview is quite open and can end up being quite personal about yourself. I feel like depending on where things go I can see myself talking to the interviewers about something quite personal that I get somewhat emotional over and could potentially tear up. Do you guys think it would be bad to 'cry' in the interview? not like full on crying but just minor red teary eyes for a couple of minutes.

They have a set question list. However, you may need to discuss elements of your personal life in anecdotes. It's not necessarily bad to cry in an interview however, some interviewers may not look at it favourably and it depends on the situation as well. Personally I don't have an issue with students tearing up as long as you compose yourself after and finish the question. I wouldn't recommend medicine to someone who is very emotional given the circumstances you will have to endure in the career itself and certain patient situations.