What medical questions might they ask in the interview

[chocolatebear]

I know it's a bit early and we don't even know whether we'll get an interview or not but in case we do i think it might be a good idea to prepare, and i've heard that oxford ask harsh medical and science questions well beyond our current knowledge
is this true and also is there any way to prepare for these style questions, for example some relevant further reading that can help
thanks

[The Madness]

Oxford ask questions that you're not supposed to know the answer to - they want to see your reasoning, not necessarily whether you've read all the course books for the first three years already. At my interview, they were very friendly and pushed me to think through the possibilities, but certainly didn't expect great things (which was just as well...). I don't think there's a lot of reading you should do - just make sure you understand everything you've learnt in school so far. Don't be afraid to say 'we haven't studied that yet', if you haven't.

If you've mentioned any books on your personal statement, make sure you have read them and are prepared to talk about the/the wider topic if asked. Again, you're not meant to know everything about that topic!

I did a little bit of preparation - but that was pretty much just what I did for other interviews - 'why do you want to be a doctor?', current medical issues, my opinion of the NHS and how it could be improved. I did research influenza (H5N1 was in the news a lot then), genetic shift and drift and all that, but didn't get asked about it.

[Nilz]

In the science interviews, do they generally ask biology, chemistry or physics based questions? Are the questions based on A-level work or random lateral thinking type questions? Any help would be really helpful, as I'm really worried at the moment.

Thanks,
Nilz

[The Madness]

My interviewers (bear in mind I was only interviewed at two places, but my experiences seem to be similar to other people in my year) asked medically-related science questions (so biology, some chemistry) - it's a medical degree you're being interviewed for, after all. I didn't get asked any physics questions, though whether they might have asked someone with A-level physics something to do with medical physics or summat, I don't know. I really don't think that it's something you can prepare for by learning all there is to know about, say, the glycolytic pathway - that's not the point of the interview.

My questions were based on A-level work (I imagine that's true of most colleges), though since applicants don't have to have A-level biology, I assume they'd take that into account. At one college, I was given a short passage to read beforehand to give me the background information I needed to tackle a question - it was actually stuff I'd been taught a few weeks ago, but it wouldn't have amttered if I hadn't been.

There was a degree of not exactly lateral thinking, but logical deduction involved. It's not like the BMAT's Section one questions - it's a lot more applied than that. When given a question, start with what you know, even if it's obvious, talk though your reasoning and see where you get - the tutors will prompt you and it doesn't really matter if you don't get the right answer; you're not necessarily expected to. Please try not to worry - most people find interviews here good fun, despite being nervous beforehand.

[Nilz]

Thanks a lot.
You've helped put my mind at rest. I'll try and stop worrying now!!