If you feel very nervous before your first medical school interview, don’t be surprised. This is perfectly normal. Here are five tips that will help you make it through your medical school interview with confidence.
1. Be respectful to everyone you meet: During your medical school interview, imagine that you are in a fishbowl. Everyone is evaluating you either consciously or subconsciously. This includes current medical students, secretaries, tour guides and anyone else who observes you that day.
Assume that each person you meet during your interview day will affect the day’s outcome. If you make a very positive or negative impression on someone, including someone other than your interviewer, that person will likely speak up. Being on your game for a full interview day is exhausting, so be prepared to be tired when you are done.
[Here are five more ways to ace a medical school interview.]
1. Stay off your phone and turn off the volume: Though everyone is on their phones all the time, there is no consensus about cellphone use and professionalism during the interview day. So to stay on the safe side, be 100 percent attentive during your interview day and leave your cellphone off and in your suit pocket or purse.
Do not pull out your phone to check texts, emails or make a call unless you are someplace where no one will see you, such as in a car or a hotel room.
3. Don’t tell the interviewer what you think they want to hear: It can be tempting to try and “psych out” the interviewer, but he or she can often sense dishonesty. The best interviewees are sincere, authentic and completely honest.
One student I worked with was interviewing a top NIH-funded medical school. When asked about plans for her future career, she said that she wanted to pursue research in addition to being a clinician and public health advocate. Her application, however, showed little evidence of an interest in research.
So the interviewer probed further, making the student feel uncomfortable. She told me that for the remainder of the interview the interviewer questioned everything she said. Needless to say, the applicant wasn’t accepted to this medical school.
Interview questions have no really wrong or right answers, so be yourself. This is almost always the best way to make an ideal impression.
[Take time to address strengths and weakness in med school applications.]
The interviewer wants to know who you are, why you want to be a doctor and if you possess the qualities and characteristics he or she would like to see in medical students. As long as you have the right intentions, which the overwhelming majority of medical school applicants do, you will make a positive impression.
4. Make sure to listen carefully and address the question: I find that some applicants go into an interview with their own agenda and notions about what they want to discuss. It is a fine idea to have some speaking points at the ready and to know what distinguishes you as an applicant.
For example, if you know that your deep interest in global health or unusual background distinguishes you from other candidates, try to bring up these particulars at some point during a traditional and more conversational interview. Do so at an appropriate time by listening carefully and answering what the interviewer asks.
Showing that you are a good listener is important because excellent communication skills are necessary to practicing medicine. So it will hurt you if you instead demonstrate that you do not listen attentively.
[Learn strategies for answering ethics questions during interviews.]
5. Go with the flow: Every interviewer has his or her own style of interviewing. One interviewer might prefer a conversational type of interview, while another may have a distinct list of questions that everyone interviewee is asked. Another might systematically ask you about each of the experiences you listed on your application.
The best way to prepare for these different styles is to enter each interview without expectations. Go into each interview with an open mind and get to know your interviewer and his or her approach to the interview. Adapt to that style as the interview progresses.
Always review your application before an interview so you are prepared to discuss any topic about which you have written. Remember that no two interviews will ever be the same.
If you have many interviews over the course of the medical school admissions season, you will find that each one will get easier and you will be less nervous as the season progresses. Like being extremely nervous for the first interview, that is also perfectly normal.
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Be Authentic, Thoughtful for Medical School Interview Success originally appeared on usnews.com
