I thought that since each aspect of the application process can generate so many questions/so much discussion there should be a separate thread for interviews.
Okay, this is the culmination of the efforts of everyone that has posted here in the past year or so…all your experiences regarding the interview process. Hopefully it should save everyone some time and effort. Anything I’ve missed out, or anyone has any suggested additions, let me know. After all, this thread is a representation of what you have all posted already, so I don't want to misrepresent what people think. At the bottom of the page I’ve listed the usernames of the people whose posts I have used in some way. If I’ve missed anyone out, sorry, it was unintentional.
_______________________________________
Interviews
After you have submitted your application it will be assessed by selectors. This involves marking different aspects of the application against certain pre-defined criteria. Those criteria can be found here:
Personal statement criteria
If you score highly enough here, you will be offered an interview. If so, you’re more than halfway to getting an offer. In fact it has been said that 70% of interviewees were offered places, although as high as 80% has been quoted in one post. Again the interviews are marked according to set criteria, so there are two main things to bear in mind here. First, since there are set criteria to address, the questions will be structured/directed in a certain way in order that the interviewers can assess you properly. In other words, they aren't going to ask completely random questions in the vain hope that you are somehow going to fulfill the criteria that they are looking for; they will be trying to prompt you in some way. Second, since you now know the broad criteria they are assessing, you can try and address this in your interview preparation. Click
here to get the Interview info from Manchester med school.
Manc_reject kindly posted the interviewers’ marking sheet:
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Manc_reject
There's four people on the panel and it looks like they each mark you out of 30 for Numbers 1, 2, and 3. For Number 4 (communication skills) it looks like each panel members marks you out of 10.
The overall marking score is out of 400; you need 240 points to be accepted.
|
The interview panel usually consists of four people. One person chairs, and the other three ask questions. However, it seems that of these three people, only two will ask questions in any given interview (although this approach is not adhered to strictly according to one or two people’s comments). The interview is generally a one-way process, meaning that they do the asking, not you. The exception to this is at the very end of the interview when you are asked if you have any questions for the panel.
The last 5 minutes of the interview is a short discussion, which will involve the interviewee and all the panel members. It will usually be on an ethics-type topic chosen by the chair (i.e. the person heading the interview, not the four-legged thing you’re ass has been sweating onto for the previous 10 minutes). At the end of the discussion you’ll be asked to summarise the salient points of the discussion.
The total length of the interview is 15 minutes.
There is a lunch buffet, to which all interviewees are invited. This is followed by a tour of the medical school by current medical students. The interviews are held both in the morning and the afternoon. My interview was just before lunch, which for me was good so that I didn’t have much waiting around in the morning, then I could enjoy lunch and the tour knowing that it was over. However, since the medical students doing the tour were friendly, relaxing, and did offer some advice about the interview, it might be good to have your interview after lunch. Unfortunately there is little choice in the matter! Generally the interviewers are friendly and the interviews are relaxed. So try and relax yourself.
I have compiled a list of questions that seem to come up often:
Common questions:
Why Medicine?
Why Manchester?
Advantages & disadvantages of PBL?
What if part of your team want pulling their weight? linked to PBL
How will you sort this problem out?
What are the roles of a doctor?
Why doctor not a nurse?
How do you cope with stress?
If you had a really bad day, your patient died and you come home at 3:00 am, what would you do to unwind/de-stress?
Questions about work experience.
Questions about personal statement, interests, etc.
Other questions:
What are the differences in primary and secondary care?
What do you think will be the advancements in medicine in the next 20 years?
What are the bad points about being a doctor?
How would you protect yourself from litigation?
What factors affected the health of Victorians?
What differences do you think there will be when you're a doctor?
Should Tony Blair disclose statistics regarding surgeons’ success rates?
What developments will there be in medicine in the next 20 years?
What changes in the last 50 years or so have affected the health of the nation?
What possible problems might you face as a doctor in 20 years time?
What do you think would improve the NHS/ if you were in charge - what would you do to improve it?
What about cloning?
Who would you put on a panel to discuss Gene Therapy?
How far do u think medical soaps on tv educate the public on
preventative medicine? Do you think more should be done to make these dramas
realistic?
Ethical question topics:
MMR vaccine (common topic)
Should obese people be given knee transplants? (common question)
Should obese people be given heart transplants?
Pharmaceutical industry: products being sold over the internet.
Should plastic surgery be available on the NHS?
Baby on life support machine and placing a DNR order
You are the health minister for this country and the Indian health minister writes to you complaining that you are taking away their good nurses. How do you deal with the situation?
What do you think about people using the internet for self diagnosis?
Case : Should a man with lung cancer from smoking be treated or a man with lung cancer not caused by smoking? What if the finance was limited? Who to spend the money to treat? Who decides who will receive the treatment?
j00ni gave this advice on ethical questions
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by j00ni
As regards ethics questions, you have to be confident in your assessment of the ethical situation. Just weigh up both sides of the arguement, trying not to show bias, then give a reasoned opinion as to which side of the arguement you support. Remember, there is no right or wrong answer, the interviewer may disagree with you, but as long as you know why you have chosen one over the other you should be fine. Don't be afraid to stick to your guns, they will admire that much more than someone who is incapable of making a decision.
|
When are the interviews held?
Any time between November and the end of March
How long does it take to receive notification of an offer?
Offers are made throughout the interview process. The time period between interview and offer can range from hours to weeks, and it will generally appear on UCAS Track first.
What are the conditions of an offer?
If you do get an offer, these are the likely conditions:
- Grades, if your exams/results are pending.
- A Level / Degree certificates required (
if you have already met the academic requirements)
- Certificate of non-infectivity of Hepatitis B required (
after immunisation/blood test)
- You must provide a satisfactory financial guarantee (
fill out a form that they send you)
- You must complete a Declaration of Health questionnaire (
fill out another form that they send you. Get your GP to countersign it. There is sometimes a charge – up the £25 – for this)
- Receipt of enhanced Criminal Records Bureau disclosure (
more form-filling and avoidance of committing certain crimes)
_________________________________________
Phew! All the best to new applicants this summer/autmn/winter/spring cycle...oops, how could I forget how long and drawn out the application process was! Looking forward to meeting the rest of you when we start in Sept 2005!
Acknowledgements (alphabetically):
chunky.saj, dingding, elite, Furious George, innitman, j00ni, Manc_reject, Nick B, pacdorme (for giving me advice on my interview!), prat?, qash 786, reddyrams, Styx
