Receiving an invitation to interview for medical school can be very exciting. After years of hard work and months of grueling applications, you get word that one or several medical schools are seriously considering you for a seat in their incoming class and want to meet you in person.
But as the interview date approaches, you may find your excitement turning into anxiety. Medical school applicants report worrying about providing the “wrong answer” to an interview question, failing to impress their interviewer or simply “messing up.”
If you find yourself with such worries before your interview, you are not alone. Most applicants report some level of anxiety going into the interview. Trying to understand the anxiety and learning to cope with it can help.
[Use five strategies to ace a medical school admissions interview.]
— Anxiety is normal and to be expected. Applicants often worry that any display of anxiety during the interview will be perceived as a sign of weakness and would automatically disqualify them from medical school. This is not true. Mild or moderate levels of anxiety are to be expected.
Your interviewers are human and they understand that the interview process can bring about stress. Many experienced similar feelings when they were interviewing for medical school themselves. In fact, being a bit anxious can be a sign that you take your interview seriously, that you are sincere and that getting into medical school is important to you.
Several years ago, one of our students became so anxious during an interview that he could not finish his answer to a question about why he wanted to attend that particular medical school. He stumbled in his response and the interviewer had to stop him midsentence and change the subject. He was convinced that this fumble would be a deal-breaker for the medical school. To his surprise, several weeks later he was accepted to that school.
— Anxiety begets anxiety. Anxiety before your medical school interview is a form of performance anxiety, similar to what one develops before performing on stage or giving a speech in public. This anxiety often manifests in physical symptoms like sweating and palpitations. All of these are normal and to be expected, but what is important to realize is that this anxiety can feed off itself and create a vicious cycle.
An applicant may go into the interview with mild anxiety but become increasingly anxious as he worries about the consequence his anxiety will have on the outcome of the interview. In other words, what started off as anxiety about the interview transforms into anxiety about being anxious.
Understanding this secondary anxiety as it begins to develop is important for keeping it in check and making it more manageable. One way to keep anxiety in check is by observing it, as outlined below.
[Learn to avoid three common mistakes during medical school interviews.]
— Observing the anxiety can help. One proven strategy for coping with anxiety is to observe what you are feeling. If you walk into your medical school interview and notice yourself feeling anxious, take a moment to step back from the feelings and become more aware of what is happening to your mind and body.
Observe every anxious thought that comes to your mind instead of suppressing it. But at the same time, do not latch on to it. By learning to distance yourself from your thoughts and appreciate them as transient, you will realize that you are more than just the thoughts that you feel in that moment.
— Your interviewer should not be a source of anxiety. Interviewers have different approaches to interacting with applicants. While some may be nice and friendly, others can come across as intimidating by challenging your responses, questioning you extensively or disagreeing with you.
This can lead to a great deal of anxiety in applicants who often infer that this mannerism suggests the interviewer is unimpressed with them. The truth is that most of the time, interviewers will display the same mannerism with every applicant.
If they are tough and serious, they are likely to be that way with all applicants, and if they are nice and friendly toward you, they are likely the same toward others. As a result, you cannot read into their manners and use that to gauge their impression of you.
[Use medical school interviews to address weaknesses.]
A few years ago, one of our students who was applying to M.D.-Ph.D. programs was challenged extensively about her research by one of her interviewers. She walked away from the interview feeling as though she had not impressed the interviewer. Yet, she was accepted to that medical school.
When she went to visit the campus for a second look after her acceptance, she ran into the tough interviewer who told her that he had been very impressed by her and had advocated strongly for her to get accepted.
Accounts like this and the pointers outlined above should serve to remind you that you can survive a medical school interview and get accepted even if you are anxious. Do not let your anxiety stop you. Instead, recognize that it is normal and allow it to be there without forcing it away.
Also, remember that even though the interview may be stressful, you should embrace it and try to have some fun in the process.
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Keep Anxiety in Check During Medical School Interview originally appeared on usnews.com
