How to Ace your Medicine Interviews? - From a 3rd Year Medical Student
- Ashre Moses
- Oct 20, 2024
- 4 min read
This is where your journey really starts! No more stressing about teachers editing your personal statement, making it not so personal. Interviews are where you can show your personality and let your passion for medicine shine through, beyond what’s written on UCAS. The aim is to bring your experiences, values, and unique qualities to life. Interviews aren't just about testing your knowledge, they're about seeing the real you and assessing how well you’ll fit into the medical profession. So, let’s dive into how you can showcase your best self and ace your interviews with confidence!
What’s actually going on?
I started preparing for my interviews at the beginning art of year 13. With no prior experience, the prospect of facing up to four different interview styles was overwhelming. My first step, and what I would recommend yours to be too, is extensively researching each of your universities. Here is a list of things you want to find out:
What is their interview style:
Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)
Panel Interviews
Group Interviews
Virtual or In-Person
Common interview questions for the university
University medical school values
Interview length
Number/Length of Stations (MMI specific)
University societies
University layout (Campus vs City)
Reflect, reflect and reflect some more
Often, people have the misconception coming into interviews that you have to be quote-on-quote perfect: speaking at international conferences, leading a national team to an Olympic medal, doing gold DofE. I remember applying to medical school thinking all my peers were doing incredible things while I struggled to get through bronze DofE. Bear in mind that I didn’t even end up completing it. So how did I get through with my not-so-excellent experiences? The answer is reflection. When it comes to interviews reflection is everything. Here’s how to reflect during your interviews:
Find a reflective structure
The University of Manchester recommended using STARR (Situation, Task, Action, Response, Reflection) as a reflective structure. I would encourage you to search for your university's preferred structure before each of your interviews. Note that not all universities will have that on their site. Choosing a reflective structure and sticking to what you feel sounds right will always benefit you. Other examples of reflective structures you could explore include Gibb’s Reflective Cycle (commonly used in the NHS), Borton’s Developmental Framework (What? So What? Now What?).
Putting it into practise
You’ve chosen your reflective structure, now we have to put it into practise! I will always preach against reading interview answers verbatim from a piece of paper - you don’t want it to come across as rehearsed. However, I do believe it’s useful to have a guide on what points you want to bring up, especially for the main questions. These being “why medicine?”, and any questions relating to a skill useful in healthcare. I would have a structure of bullet points covering each part of your chosen reflective cycle. Remember this is bullet points not paragraphs. Now you have got bullet points and not paragraphs you can practise with friends, family or yourself, saying different forms of the same answer, so overtime the filler words start to sound more fluid. At the start I was tripping over my words constantly, as much as I believed them, sometimes that's just inevitable, however with practise it becomes more natural.
Stay up to date with hot topics
Interviewers want medics who want to do medicine. That seems pretty self-explanatory and if you are at the interview stage you have probably identified this yourself. So how do you go about showing that you want to do medicine? The simple answer is showing that you have gone out of your way to gain deeper insight into healthcare. Interviews are a chance to show your genuine interest in the career, with medicine being such a broad career your researching could range from current healthcare issues, medical ethics and then the current state of the NHS. Your ability to critically analyse these topics in a structured way will be assessed in some form or another, so practising this will really make perfect. Here is a list of some topics which will help you in your interview:
Any topic that you find personal interest in
COVID-19
Junior doctor strikes
AI in diagnostics and treatment planning
Euthanasia and assisted suicide
Organ donation and opt-out system
Consent and confidentiality
Postcode lottery
Health disparities
Antibiotic resistance
Note: This link is by no means extensive - make sure to research beyond this!
Practise makes perfect
No matter how well you think you know the material, practise combined with constructive feedback are crucial to acing your medicine interviews. It’s one thing to have the knowledge, but being able to communicate it clearly and confidently under pressure is a skill that takes time. Start practising early, even if it feels uncomfortable at first. The more you rehearse, the more natural and confident you’ll sound. Simulate real interview conditions by practising in a quiet, formal setting with friends, family, or teachers. Better yet, work with our expert medical school tutors at RiseUp Tuition for tailored feedback and teaching. We can help you fine-tune your answers and boost your confidence. The more feedback you get on things like clarity, pacing, and body language, the better prepared you’ll be.
Recording yourself is another great way to improve. Review your recordings to observe some of the following:
Filler words
Length of answer
Failure to answer the question
Lack of structure
Rushed explanations
Sounding too rehearsed
Poor eye contact
Lack of reflection
Use this feedback to adapt your responses and become more fluid in your answers. Remember, the goal isn’t to memorise but to learn how to think on your feet and express yourself naturally.
Keep practising until you feel confident, and by interview day, you'll be ready to handle anything with ease. Just like in medicine, preparation is key to success!
Final Thoughts: Prepare, Practise, and Succeed
Keep practising until you feel confident, and by interview day, you’ll be ready to handle anything with ease. Just like in medicine, preparation is key to success!
Need More Help?
Our expert tutors at RiseUp Tuition have helped countless students excel in their medical school interviews. Book a session today to boost your chances of success!
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