The interview process is one that varies from university to university, some omitting the process entirely (i.e., University of Queensland). The weighting each university gives the interview process also varies. This may be one of the most important and nerve-wrecking interview you go through, so certainly, some preparation and a solid game plan would go a long way.
It’s not really necessary to be well versed in tons of medical literature. But it might help to know a little about current legislation involving healthcare. As well as some of the new advances in the medical field.
Confidence. This is one factor that applies to all interviews. You must show confidence in yourself, and your answers. Often, the interviewer might throw in a few new factors to the interview question that may make you doubt your stand. But remember, there is no “right” answer. As long as you can explain your opinion, you’ll be fine.
Structure
It’s always helpful to have some sort of structure when you answer a question. It really helps with blanking. When answering a question, use the time given efficiently. Formulate your structure to tackle the question and stick to that. Here is one that I recommend.
1. List all the main players (stakeholders) in the scenario.
2. See how this problem applies to each stakeholder
3. Look at it in terms of the four principles of ethics:
- beneficence (“doing good”)
- non-maleficience (“do no harm”)
- justice (fairness and equity)
- autonomy (self-determination, privacy, confidentiality).
Monash Interview 2009 (International – Singapore)
Here are the questions that I got for my interview in 2009. The interviews conducted by Monash overseas were held in conjunction with the interviews for University of Sydney. So in essence, we got the same interview. These interviews were held in Singapore and Vancouver around early September. My interview was scheduled for 4th September, and I received the email to inform me that I was shortlisted on the 13th of August.
- You’re part of a school trip to NZ and your group ends up sharing the one and only available room in the entire town. One of girls in the group has personal issues about sharing a room with the opposite gender. How do you resolve this issue? Later, her father calls to ask about the situation. Would you tell him what is going on?
- You’re a medical student and have noticed that your clinicals professor has been appearing to class the past few times smelling of alcohol. What do you do? After confronting her, she says it was just that one time (she had lunch with a friend or sth) and she would not do it again. But several days later, she appears in class smelling of alcohol again. What do you do?
- You watch a movie with the lead actor smoking several times during the movie. When you come out of the theatre, your friends have a debate on whether smoking should be censored in movies. What are your thoughts?
- You are the owner of a famous restaurant in New York, selling cheesecake and cannoli. One day, the government issues a policy, restricting the amount of fat in food served in restaurants. This directly affects your signature dishes. What do you do?
- You head out bushwalking with a friend and your brother. You have only been bushwalking once before, and this would be your younger brother’s first time out in the bush. After wandering off the path for 30 minutes, your friend falls and breaks her leg. You are lost. No one knows you have gone bushwalking. What do you do? What would you bring with you if you were going bushwalking?
- You are at a bus stop in front of a cafe when you notice a woman pushing a pram, carrying a child, and holding onto the hand of another child. Two more children are running amok around the bus stop making a ruckus. She loses her temper and smacks one of them. What do you do? Would your decision change if you knew she isn’t the child’s parent?
- You are a team leader of a group project and notice that one of your group members has not been showing up for meetings. What do you do? When you confront him, he says that you are the problem and reason why he does not show. What do you do?
- You are in a class when the professor shows a video of a patient-doctor interaction. It is apparent from the film that the patient does not know she is being filmed, and tells the doctor alot of personal issues. What do you do? What issues are raised with this situation?
- Your grandmother is living alone and has recently been in poor health. Your mother wants her to move into an assisted living community (i.e., old folks’ home). Your grandmother wants to live in the home she was raised in and has spent her entire life in. What do you do to resolve this?
More Sample Questions
Here are some other questions I gathered from my hunting around. They were from other universities as well as some books. Reading through them and formulating how you might answer them would help a lot in putting you in the right mindset.
# You have two patients requiring a heart transplant, both equally suited to the organ which has become available. Patient 1 is a 25 year old man who smokes 3 packets of cigarettes a day. Patient 2 is a 50 year old woman who has always looked after her body, has three children in their late teens/early twenties and husband. Both patients are in urgent need of transplant and will subsequently die if they do not get one. Who would you choose to give the organ donation to?
# A man has been responsible for taking care of his wife who is in a vegetative state for 6 years after a car accident. She can breathe on her own but that is the extent of her abilities. He requests that her feeding tube be removed. What should you, as her physician do? Why?
# A student is working in a clinic where the office double books aboriginal patients. The student asks their reasoning and the receptionist replies that “Those people never show up for their appointments.” How would you deal with this situation?
# You are working on a group project with 5 other students. One of the students doesn’t show up for meetings or if they do show up – they are late and leave early. They have put no effort into the group project but show up on the day of the presentation and try to take credit for the project. What do you do in this situation?
# Mrs. Jones has signed a donor card indicating that she is willing to donate her body to science without notifying her husband and son. She gets into an accident and it is determined she is brain dead. The family doctor, who is on call that afternoon, reviews the chart and determines that she would be perfect for medical students to practice the removal of organs for transplantation purposes. The doctor then talks to the family to discuss the procedure and to confirm their consent. They both oppose the procedure and refuse to allow their doctor to move forward. The doctor points out that Mrs. Jones could be helping hundreds of people by educating the medical students and that technically consent has already been provided. The husband understands how beneficial the educational experience is but is too emotional to allow them to continue. The son, a medical student, refuses because he knows the bodies are not treated with dignity. If you were the doctor, how would you proceed? Why?
# You are spending your evening as a JURSI in the hospital. It is late and you see a member of the staff duck into the supply closet with an empty bag and reappear in a few minutes with it appearing full. You have heard other staff members discussing that supplies are missing on a regular basis that can not be accounted for. After observing the actions of the other staff member, what do you do?
# You are a second year student shadowing a doctor in the O.R. Once the patient, an obese female has been given general anesthetic and the procedure is underway the doctors start to make comments about her weight and call her names that you find inappropriate but most of all unprofessional. Do you talk to the doctor about his comments or do you keep your comments to yourself? Why?
# Two patients need a liver transplant, but there is only one liver available at the time. Tell the interviewer how you would decide between:
a) a 64-year old retired politician who happens to be an alcoholic, or
b) a 26-year old mother of three who is on welfare.
# You are part of a committee to decide where the money for health care in Geelong is spent. It is your turn to inform the committee of your opinion on what you think is the single most important area requiring funding.
Some of the more traditional questions
Why do you want to be a doctor? (practice 1 sentence answer & in full)
What will you if you aren’t accepted to medical school?
If medicine no longer existed (the Australian Government wiped it off the curriculum) what would you do?
What makes you special?
What do you think will be your greatest challenge in completing medical school or learning how to be a doctor?
In your view, what is the most pressing problem facing medicine today?
What you can do to be a good dr?
Explain how you make decisions- walk us through the process.
Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
What single piece of research has resulted in a significant medical advance?
What is the most dissapointing thing that has ever happened to you (personal not professional), how did you deal with it?
What sort of comunity service things do you do?
What qualities should a good doctor have? + justification with examples
What do you regard as positive and negative aspects of the medical profession? + examples
What are your hobbies, how will you handle not having time for them.
What attributes should a team member have? + example of working in a team
What are the barriers to health care for people living in isolation/migrants?
How can personal beliefs affect the care of patients?
What is the role of research in medicine? + examples of medical research and its impact
What was the toughest decision you ever had to make?
What are your personal strengths and weaknesses?
what are your weaknesses and how are you working to overcome them?
How survive financially during medical school?
How will your life change if you get into medicine?
If you could do anything different in your education, what would you do?
What are the attributes of a good doctor?
Name a time when you’ve provided support or solace to someone?
Talk about a time when you showed leadership?
What exposure have you had to the medical profession?
What do you think you will like most about medicine?
What do you think you will like least about medicine?
Be prepared to discuss managed healthcare and changes in the Australian healthcare system. List current health issues in SA and in Australia.
List three issues that confront medicine today. Of the three, which is the most important and why?
What are three things you want to change about yourself?
Describe a time when you worked in a group and achieved/did not achieve a good outcome.
How would you describe the relationship between science and medicine?
What, to you, is meant by evidence-based medicine?
Which family member has influenced your life so far and why?
Talk about a time when you showed caring and compassion?
What do you think will be the most difficult parts of a career in med and how will you cope with these?
Discuss a controversial area of medicine, what view best represents yours and why?
What are good qualities for a doctor to have and why?
if you want to work with patients, why don’t you want to be a nurse?
Why not stay in your current profession?
What aspects of medicine draw you to this profession?
List several qualities that you feel are the most important in being a good medical student.
What most recent advances in medicine have occurred that you believe will have the greatest impact on how you will practice medicine?
What kinds of experiences have you had in the medical field?
Describe an experience you had helping others.
Sometimes they also ask final questions along the lines of…
Do you have any other things to add before we wrap up the interview?
Do you have any questions?
Advocate your own position for acceptance into the GMP.
Is there anything else you would like to say in support of your applications?
Tips for the day itself:
- Dress professionally
- Arrive early, if not punctually
- Remember to bring identification
Now to leave you with some quotes and food for thought:
its like learning martial arts… The true master not only knows how to use the sword, but when. (ethics vs law)
I was always taught that the most important part of the stethoscope is the bit between the earpieces.
The retrospectoscope is a marvelously accurate tool. Unfortunately, it’s of no help in the present tense, and causes mostly resentment if used in the past tense.
To give anything less than your best if to sacrifice the gift – Steve Prefontaine
“Be the change you wish to see in the world.” ~ Mahatma Gandhi
“To wish you were someone else is to waste the person you are.”
