Before the interview
To have been given an interview for a medical school is a tremendous achievement in itself. Many universities only interview a minority of potential applicants, so let this put you in a positive frame of mind to help you to begin to prepare.
1. Preparation
Before the interview, the first rule is to be prepared. First of all plan how you are going to get there, double check the date, place and time, and make sure you get there early to allow time for getting lost, form filling and calming down!
Next reflect on what you are doing this for. This will provide you with the most honest answer to the obvious question- "why do you what to be a doctor". No book will be able to answer the question for you although many try. An original answer will also make you stand out and show that you do have a genuine interest. If, in preparing your answer you are unable to move beyond the "to help peopl" phase try and think of a particular person, it could be a relative or patient you've seen on work experience, whose story has really moved you and inspired you to gain the knowledge needed to help in whatever way a doctor can.
Next think about the other questions you are likely to be asked. In the interview they want to assess whether medicine is right for you. They are likely to therefore ask why you want to be a doctor and not a nurse, or vet or social worker or any other job that your previous answers, interests and qualifications may lean towards. So think about the differences between different professionals, the specific roles, responsibilities and academic studies and what qualities you have that would make a good doctor. They will also want to check that you know what the job involves, so have a good idea about the positives and negatives of being a doctor, keep up to date with the latest changes in medicine, learn about different disease prevention schemes and be ready to talk about any work experience you have done. They will also want to check your enthusiasm for medicine by asking you about recent or major events in the media relating to health care, or by asking if you have read anything recently that interested you. To help you to prepare for this, read an article that you can understand and are able to share your thoughts on; try looking in a scientific journal or in a broadsheet newspaper.
The interviewers will also want to establish that you have the right skills to be a doctor, so think about times when you have demonstrated good communication skills, team working, leadership and events where you have acted well under pressure. They may or may not have read your personal statement, so make sure you remind yourself of what you wrote in it so that you can explain and further expand on some of the points you made. They will also want to establish that you are a balanced person and have activities that go beyond the academic to help take your mind off things or relax. Also think about your own strengths and weaknesses, acknowledging both can be equally difficult but they may ask you how you can adapt them to your own and a team's advantage. Think about any areas you will find particularly difficult and how will you cope with these.
They will also want to check that their university is the right one for you. So make sure that you read about the type of course offered and think why this suits you, the facilities and societies offered by the university, and why the place itself; so if you haven't been before make sure you read up on what it has to offer!
2. The fine details
Next plan what you are going to wear, generally a skirt or trousers, shirt (with a tie for boys) and a jacket works quite well. Make sure you have all the tickets, documents and whatever else you need ready.
There are a lot of very good websites and books available to help you prepare further which some people find helpful. The key is preparation; there will always be odd questions that you won't be prepared for but if you can answer the others well then this should be enough.
The interview
When you arrive, the first rule is to be friendly. Be nice to all the people you meet, especially the other interview candidates as they may be sitting next to you in lectures for the next few years and also talking about your past interview experiences and interests. When you go into the interview room, smile and shake the hands of the interviewers if they offer them. The interviewers are going to want you to do your best and so will probably start by asking you some general questions, so for example, about your journey or whether you've had a good week. Remember that those interviewing you are human too and will have been through the same type of experience when they were applying for university. No one is going to point a finger at you and tell you you're fired!
Try and sit still and straight and maintain a reasonable level of eye contact. If they ask you question that you are prepared for, try not to make the answers sound rehearsed, and any questions that you weren't expecting, then take your time to show that you're thinking of a sensible answer, which is a quality of a doctor, and for any debatable topics they ask you about, show that you have a good understanding of the arguments for and against before giving your personal opinion if you want to.
If there is anything that you can't answer then, after having thought about it and sharing any thoughts that you do have, admit that you don't know but that it is an interesting point that you would like to and will find out more about. Demonstrating that you can acknowledge the limitations of your knowledge can be viewed as a bigger positive than giving a correct answer!
At the end of the interview they are likely to ask you if you have any questions. Make sure that you don't ask something that is written in the university prospectus, but if there is an issue you would like to know more about then feel free to ask. It's fine if you don't have a specific question, but try to keep a general one in mind for all interviews as questions show interest. Thank all the interviewers before you leave and any other staff members who you see on leaving.
Hannah L. Reid, UK medical student
Received August 2008