UQ Med Interview Experience 2006

I said before that I will post about my interview experience, and I've put it off because I couldn't bear to think about it before my offer came. Then when my offer came I was too lazy to think about it. But here I am now. Better late than never, right?

I think, on the whole, my interview was not too different (if at all) from recounts of previous years. You can find other people's recounts in the Paging Dr forum http://vtac.proboards103.com/index.cgi

The usual type of questions (not in order)

• What do you do with your spare time? (Said to be a community involvment question in disguise)
• Current issues facing Qld Health? (Look-upable on the Qld Health website)
• Why do you want to be a doctor?
• Have you had contact with working doctors?
• What do you think are some difficulties doctors face?
• What makes a good doctor?
• Have you come up against any difficulties, situations where you really felt you failed? How did you deal with it?
• How will you support yourself during med?
• Define terms: Pretend you are explaining these terms to lay people (in the scientific terms, I was a teacher explaining to school-aged children. In the social terms, I was a guest on the radio). You get to choose from three terms. I can't remember my terms, but I do recall I chose inertia and flowchart. I even said out loud that I chose those because they seem to be the easiest. (me and my big mouth).
• The debate: choose from 3 controversial topics, state your view on them. then they will state an argument of the opposite view, and you have to say something back, to stand your ground. This goes on for 2 or 3 rounds. Mine was: capital punishment, deforestation, and heroin injection rooms. I chose heroin injection rooms.
• Story and summary: The interviewers read out a short story, and then they asked me a few questions. I was asked to summarise the story and then to answer a few questions, mainly to do with empathy. (eg, how did X feel? Why did the author mention Y?)
• What are some of your good qualities and some of your bad qualities?

The interview lasted for 35 minutes, I think it is supposed to last longer? My panel was one lady and one man, the lady was Head of Psychiatry at the SOM (I think) and the man was a GP. Was a bit scared at being interviewed by a psychiatrist.

And now for my personal remarks...

• When asked what I do in my spare time, I said that as I am working full time, I enjoy simple things like spending time with my family. They asked, when I was a student and had more time, what did I do? Obviously this is to see if I had any community involvment. I told the truth: Nothing much. I did get involved with the Amnesty International for a concert, but my contribution was so minute it's hardly worth mentioning. They didn't ask anything further. In spite of that, I got in.
• My response to the current issues in QLD was very standard, as my brain froze at that point. I had other ideas for improving the status quo and stuff which I didn't mention. But I still got in, in spite of that.
• When asked of some of difficulties facing doctors, I should have said something about work load. But instead I said what was on my mind at the moment. I remembered the doctors I work with and said "everyone expects the doctor to know everything. The ancilliary staff, the patients, nurses. I think there is quite a bit of pressure there." What! I still cringe at the thought of what I said.
• People say not to mention religion. But when asked how I deal with my failures, I said I pray. So I guess it's not that bad. They nodded when I said that. But then, I didn't say "I pray to the God who hath mercy in spite of my transgressions, yea, whoes power is made perfect in my weakness." Hehe...
• When asked how I will support myself, I had meant to say that I can live off my parents, and work if necessary. But what I ended up saying was that it is quite easy for me to find weekend positions as a radiographer, and my parents don't mind me staying with them anyways. But they didn't reject me because I said I was going to work.
• I giggled. I can't believe it now, but I'm sure I giggled. I forgot the interviewers were meant to be stony-faced. "Hehe", I remember saying. "I choose inertia, it's the easiest, haha." then: "Hehe, I'll choose flowchart, it is also the easiest there, hehe". The dude looked like he was falling asleep at one stage, but the lady was very nice and both of them did smile back at me. I guess the key is to relax and talk to them as you would anyone you just met - amicably, but with restraint. Giggling is not necessarily the best thing though, especially for guys.
• In the debate, towards the end, I had virtually no new arguments. All I could do was to say, weakly, "Yes, that is a valid point, but I think it is more important that:" and then state one of my previous arguments. I felt horrible, but I guess since I got in it couldn't have been that bad.
• I wanted to make my 'bad' qualities sound 'good'. I said that I find that I needed to speak up with working in a team at work, which I have difficulty doing since I am on the lowest rung of the ladder. I was trying to explain this, when the psychiatrist said "So you have confidence problems?" and I said "uh, something like that, yes". But I don't! I don't have confidence problems, I just have difficulty speaking up when faced with scary surgeons and scarier operating theatre nurses. So the interview panel thinks that I am working on my 'confidence'. But once again, I guess it's not a rejectable offence.

Look how much I'd posted, I hadn't meant to post this much. Looks like I recall more than I thought I would. I have shared some of my responses, but I don't actually think I responded all that well, and I certainly wouldn't recommend it to anyone.

Hope this helps.