Views on using medical students as interviewers on panels for admission to Med school

[ochallelujah]

What do you think about the use of medical students as interviewers on panels for admission to medical school?

I am a medical student helping to write an article for the student BMJ about the views of both applicants to medical school and current medical students who have been through an interview process where there were medical students on the interview panel. I am looking for the views of anyone who has applied this year or had the experience.

If you would be happy for me to perhaps use some of the quotes from your posts in the article, please do let me know.

Thanks!

[cat_bach]

I was not interviewed by a medical student, but I think the inclusion of a senior (4th yr+) medical student on interview panls with other clinicians or faculty staff would be a great idea. From the applicants perspective, a younger face can be less intimidating. From the panels perspective, a medical student will have a good perspective on how different people tend to cope with the course etc. We all know a few dubious admissions, and we all have had day to day nitty gritty experience of what its like to do medicine and the type who thrive nd those who tend to hit rocky ground. It is deffo a perspective worthh seeking, even if its not to be the most important.

[Laura_K]

One of my interviewers at Leicester was a fifth year medical student. I really liked the idea as I felt someone closer to my age who had gone through what I was going through would be more understanding- not only of some minor blunders that most interviewees make but of the points I was trying to get across. I feel that a medical student would also be better able to tell whether the applicant was being sincere and how their motivations for choosing medicine would hold up once in medical school.
Feel free to quote me.. although I don't feel I am particularly quotable.

[never_too_late]

I think it's indicative of progressive thinking! Brilliant.

I wouldn't care if they were even second or third years, these are potential peers. They've gone through the system recently and whether or not they are sympathetic, they are models of what the University is looking for, they have the experience and fresh minds for the process, I think that can only help...

I would expect that a lot of interviewers have been on the panel or part of the process for some years and no doubt somewhat fatigued by it?!

mim

[Dr. Cool]

imo it's a good idea if they form part of a panel, but not so good if they interview individually (say during an MMI) when it comes to certain questions. Some applicants, say ex-nurses or people with a lot of HCA experience, might have knowledge and experience beyond that of the average medical student.

Having said that, you could say the same thing about a panel full of consultants who haven't directly spoken to a patient in eons. I joke of course.. sort of.

[doctor2b]

omg, I had a medical student on my panel interview, and he looked more scared than I felt (and I was petrified). At least that made me feel a bit more confident though... I think its a good idea, but I didn't really feel that the medical student would have much of a say in the final decision made by the panel, I feel they would be overidden by the strong consultant views, but at least it is giving medical students experience.

[Rippy]

I think it's a bad idea, since they are less experienced at interviewing, therefore more likely to be influenced by unimportant factors. Just my opinion, maybe that's not true at all.

[GenericName]

omg, I had a medical student on my panel interview, and he looked more scared than I felt (and I was petrified). At least that made me feel a bit more confident though... I think its a good idea, but I didn't really feel that the medical student would have much of a say in the final decision made by the panel, I feel they would be overidden by the strong consultant views, but at least it is giving medical students experience.

I had exactly the same experience when I originally applied. The medical student looked terrified, he was generally unreceptive to anything I said, which made me feel even more stressed out and he didn't seem to know quite what to ask.

Generally I guess it's good because Medical students can often see through the fakery and illusion certain candidates put on; however, better training for student panellists may be an idea... I actually got interviewed this year by the same Med school who used a student on the panel originally and they had changed the format quite a bit, one of the changes being the absence of a med student on the panel.

[ochallelujah]

imo it's a good idea if they form part of a panel, but not so good if they interview individually (say during an MMI) when it comes to certain questions. Some applicants, say ex-nurses or people with a lot of HCA experience, might have knowledge and experience beyond that of the average medical student.

Having said that, you could say the same thing about a panel full of consultants who haven't directly spoken to a patient in eons. I joke of course.. sort of.

How come you don't think it's such a good idea if they interview individually, on an MMI? Their evaluation of a student will be used in collaboration with the evaluations of other interviewers in the different stations of an MMI, so does this not resemble the summative approach to scoring seen in the traditional interview panel format?

[Dr. Cool]

As far as I can gather, during MMI’s the candidates response is scored by individuals alone. If a score is erroneously high or low, it will stand regardless. In contrast, during traditional panel interviews, even if they do score individually, it will still be fairly holistic. If an overly high or low score is given, others on the panel may enquire as to why that’s the case, and perhaps correct any misunderstandings. Generally though, there will be a lot more scope for brief discussion of the applicant’s responses if there’s anything that stands out, which in theory will lead to a more accurate score.

I’m aware my argument applies to using individuals to rate responses, regardless of whether or not they’re students. However, the argument gets stronger as the interviewer at hand gets less experienced and/or knowledgeable. Particularly with mature applicants wh've potentially worked as nurses/HCA’s for years, it could easily get the point where medical students are less qualified to answer certain questions than the candidate themselves. There are things about hospital life, which are very difficult to appreciate without having been in the thick of it for a while.