The Medical School Interview Spy

The Medical School
Interview Spy
A unique ghgg guide to interview

technique through analysis hhof of
transcripts hdd
www.doceatdoc.com
The Medical School Interview Spy
A unique guide to interview technique through analysis of
transcripts
Produced and published by www.doceatdoc.com
Dedicated to every student committed to joining the medical profession and treating
disease without prejudice
Disclaimer:
The information in this guide is for information purposes only.
I am not a lawyer and any legal opinions given are simply based on my own experience
Any interview results described in the page are a guide and do not guarantee future success. Medical schools may change their admissions
policies from time to time and no technique is always guaranteed to be met with success.
This product contains interview transcripts. These have been anonymised and have been obtained legally from a variety of personal accounts and
do not represent live recordings.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted, or sold in whole or in part in any form, without the prior written consent of the author.
All trademarks and registered trademarks appearing in this guide are the property of their respective owners.
Users of this guide are advised to do their own due diligence when it comes to making career decisions and all information provided should be
independently verified by your own qualified professionals. By reading this guide, you agree that my company and I are not responsible for the
success or failure of you application to medical school or any other educational institution.
2012 doceatdoc.com All rights reserved.

3 The Medical School Interview Spy www.doceatdoc.com
A quick word before you dive in...
The best preparation would be to spy on somebody elses interview
If you have applied to medical school or are thinking of applying, the following pages will quite possibly
make the difference between success and failure.
Reading these interview transcripts carefully will show you exactly what to expect at the interview in
terms of the typical questions asked, but more importantly in terms of the answering style of the most
successful candidates as well as their choice of wording.
You will probably recognize that some of these answers are not quite model answers. Nobody ever gives
a perfect performance under such immense pressure. However, all the candidates that are included in this
book were well above average and all managed to secure a place to study medicine.
This should hopefully give you some confidence. Remember, it is the overall performance that determines
success or failure and not the exact wording of any single answer.
Getting called for an interview means that the medical school admissions panel have looked through the
other aspects of your application and are considering offering you a place. All that lies between you and a
place at medical school is your interview performance. It might seem like the most difficult hurdle, but
with the right technique, it should be the most straightforward part of the application process.
I remember being interviewed for medical school for the first time. I remember that most of my
nervousness stemmed from the fact that I just didnt know what to expect. I worried that all of my
preparation would be out of tune with what the interviewers were looking for. These interview transcripts,
had they been available at the time would have helped me relax and target my preparation better. I hope
they are a useful adjunct to aid your interview preparation and that they help you successfully get into
medical school. They have been hard work to obtain and Ive spent many late evenings and any spare
moments during my busy days to piece together in some sort of useful format. Id love to know that
youve benefitted from them in any way.
A final word of advice: The interview is just a small obstacle on the long road to becoming a doctor.
Many, many people before you, often weaker candidates than you, have successfully passed through and
become excellent doctors. Im one of them. And I can tell you, the real work begins on the other side!
Good luck!
Leo Rantulis
www.doceatdoc.com
How to use this book
The transcripts provided include a range of candidates, including students studying arts subjects and
graduate applicants.
I have gone through each transcript carefully and provided useful footnotes wherever there is a learning
point. Sometimes I speculate about how the panel would score a certain section of the interview. This is
my own speculation based on my experience sitting on admissions panels.
You can either:

Read through each interview once to get a flavor of the flow of the process.
Read each answer, pausing to cover the footnotes before moving on.
Read the questions with the answers covered up. Attempt to provide your own answer before
reading the answer provided. (Bear in mind there is no single correct way to answer any
question.)
Combine the above methods as you see fit.
Notice the following:

The candidates almost always use correct English despite the many stops, starts and hesitations
typical of transcribed speech.
The interview time is limited and there are always fewer questions asked than you may expect.
The interviews are largely based on the applicants personal statement with a minimal amount of
time spent on other more random questions.
There are very few of the dreaded ethical questions.
The interviewers seem (mostly) quite nice.
Interview Transcript 1
There are three interviewers and one note taker. They all face the interviewee over the table.
There is a jug of water and a glass on the table. The interviewee enters the room and shakes
hands with all members of the panel who all stand to greet him.
Q: Welcome to ______ Medical School.
A: Thank you.
Q: Youre very welcome, please take a seat. There are going to

be a few questions asked by the members of the panel. Mary is
just going to take notes, so dont worry about her asking any
questions.1
And any questions that you have, at the end youll have a chance
to ask us. OK. So, lets begin shall we?
Q: Weve had a look at your application. Its an impressive

statement, you seem to have done a lot seem to have covered a
lot in the last year in particular. Your grades are excellent.
So, thats all very pleasing.
What we would like to know from you to start with, is why on

earth would someone of your calibre want to become a doctor?2
A: OK. Well, for me, a career in medicine is really the perfect

opportunity to stimulate my mind. It offers aspects that are
1
This is a typical opening, where the main interviewer will set the scene, introduce the panel members
and generally try to put the candidate at ease.
2
As above, the tone is being set to relax the candidate with this style of questioning. Hes an experienced
interviewer and must know that even the best candidates need to feel comfortable to perform.
both scientific -- in terms of diagnosing disease, and also the

clinical science of examination and offering treatment which is
scientifically based as well as the opportunity to research
further into any particular field that would interest me. So,
thats really the scientific aspect of it which does interest
me.3 Ive fairly enjoyed A-level biology and chemistry as well as
physics. And that side of it is a very obvious appeal to me. But
obviously, many careers offer that sort of scientific aspect.
So, really theres something more specific that medicine offers
on top of that which I feel Im particularly suited to. And I
think that is this element of applying science in a very
immediate way to very real problems which one can deal it over
either in a very short term, in a very short space of time, as
well as in the long term when perhaps managing chronic disease
and monitoring the effects of treatment over months and years.
And I think its that immediacy of being able to solve problems,
being able to solve peoples difficulties and using the
scientific method, and using ones knowledge. And I think its
that very immediate reward or very immediate result that also
appeals to me greatly.4
Q: Right just go back a little and tell us how your interest

began.
A: My interest really began when I was probably in my early

teens when I read an article about new discoveries in cancer
treatment, in particular how genetic engineering was allowing us
to further typify cancers into subtypes that had particular
genetic factors associated with them and how, first of all,
people could be identified as being at high risk of certain
tumors according to the DNA, according to essentially a simple
genetic test. And furthermore, how treatment could be targeted
3
The sentence structure is poor here, but remember this is speech and the candidate is nervously trying to
cram a lengthy prepared answer into what he feels is a time limit. Notice how this changes through the
course of the interview as he begins to relax. The interviewers know about this early nervousness and
will generally help to settle you into the interview. He does manage to get his point across in the end.
4
Brilliantly recovered. An impressive answer.
to the specific cancers by targeting the antigens on the cancer

cells themselves.5 So, I remember that as being a very inspiring
article for me and really made me read further into medical
research, medical science and what that could offer. So, I would
say that was the thing that initially inspired the interest and
after that my further pursuits into at the medical field, work
experience, studying science A-levels. All those things then
contributed further into cementing that interest.6
Finally, I would say that I attended an access to medicine

course in ______ a year ago. One of the lectures in that course
was particularly inspiring as a cardiologist who was talking
about new approaches to cardiac disease, some of the new
procedures that the cardiologists were able to do in order to
treat blocked arteries within the heart. And that really spoke
volumes to me. My own father had suffered from angina for many
years. He also ended up having a small heart attack that needed
the intervention of a cardiologist. And so, suddenly that
brought everything into a very immediate clarity, if you like,
and really stimulated me to read further about those diseases
and developments within that area in particular
Q: OK, just let me interrupt you there.7 Thats a very good

answer but You mention in your personal statement that you did
some work experience at the Princess Royal Hospital and you were
in A&E, is that right?
A: Yes, thats right. A&E, it was a week in A&E and then it was
a week on one of the medical wards as well.
Q: Good. So, just tell us about what you did there and what you
learned from it, please.
5
An article read well can be sumarised succinctly. This is a good example of picking out the key points
that inspired him and getting them across in just a few sentences. This is worth practicing.
6
Good use of language. This is relatively rare in interviews.
7
Expect to be interrupted. Here it is because he has managed to get his point across nicely and is probably
at risk of going on for too long.
A: OK. Well, in the A&E department I think I really saw the

acute side of medicine and I saw many patients being brought in
that were very sick, that perhaps needed immediate resuscitation
or some form of immediate treatment. I mean, an example8 would be
a patient who had an acute episode of asthma, an acute
exacerbation of asthma that needed oxygen, nebulizers as well IV
antibiotics actually it was an infective sort of exacerbation
of asthma. Really within a few hours of treatment we were able
to improve the situation substantially and admit the patient to
the high dependency ward where they can be monitored very
closely. So, A&E really taught me a lot about the acute sort of
intervention that can be made for disease, but more
importantly. More than just looking at the diseases themselves
I mean that was very small amount of insight, very small
proportion of what I would say I learned.
.More importantly I think was just to see the accident and

emergency department working as a team, the various other
professionals involved, how other medical teams could also be
called to A&E to deal with specific specialist problems. All of
that was very insightful and taught me many aspects of a medical
career that I hadnt appreciated, which I think are the sort of
the multidisciplinary team approach to any problem.9
Furthermore, the other point that I really saw stress of an

acute job within the medical profession is quite profound and I
saw some of the doctors doing repeated night shifts which were
very stressful and had a lot of very sick patients that they
would have to see. They may have to deal with one or two
patients that would die during the shift. The patients that
would come in, they would be just too sick to really treat
effectively. And all of that was certainly stressful to me just
to shadow the doctors, but I could see that that definitely had
8
Have examples ready and make sure you can talk a little about any diseases you mention.
9
Insights into the dynamics of working as a doctor are very important to mention. Theyre probably a
more important part of work experience than seeing disease and treatment.
a toll on the doctors that were working in these departments and

into these conditions. And I think that really taught me that to
be a good doctor I would have to be prepared to withstand those
sorts of stresses and to be prepared to equip myself with the
skills necessary to deal with that sort of stress.10
At the same time I saw the rewards of being able to have a

significant impact on patients lives. In many cases this was a
significant impact. I mean, A&E essentially really made the
difference between life and death.
Q: Right. So, you told us about the acute side of things. You
also were attached to general medical firm which sounds very
interesting to me because Im a general physician. So, what did
you learn there?11
A: Well, I think on the general medical ward I really learned

the art of managing acute and chronic problems with an eye on
the longer term, so whereas in casualty the approach seemed all
about just solving the immediate problem to the best of the
ability of A&E staff. On the medical ward its much more about
trying to manage the chronic disease with its immediate acute
exacerbation. And I was also lucky enough to attend the
outpatient clinic with one of the medical consultants. And
again, there I saw that a lot of the management of general
medical problems was about preventing the risk of further
complications such as, for example, treating blood pressure to
prevent the further risk of stroke or correctly managing some of
this diabetes in order to prevent the risk of complications due
to inadequate blood sugar control. So, I think that was a much
finer aspect of control required there, whilst having an eye for
10
This ticks the box for having a realistic idea of a medical career and what it entails.
11
The specialty of the interviewer is almost always relevant. This general physician might be very pleased
if something useful was gained by the interviewees medical attachment. At the same time one needs to
be careful as he will be alert to any shortcomings or exaggerations within the interviewees account. We
have an article on this at http://www.doceatdoc.com/why-knowing-your-interviewers-specialty-could-be-
important/
the acute and immediate problem.12 So, I think that was very
appealing to me, I found that very interesting. In that setting
I was more able to appreciate the evidence base for a lot of
what physicians do and on a number of occasions when I asked why
a certain action was taken, the consultant was able to point me
the direction of an actual clinical study, often very recent,
that he would have read very recently and would be applying
quite directly to his patients. Again as someone who comes from
a scientific background and is very interested in that evidence-
based approach... that I found is very appealing to me. 13
Q: Right. OK, excellent.14 Well move on from your work

experience a little bit and we would like to ask you about your
volunteering. It looks like youve done a good amount of
volunteer work. You have done some volunteering at the local
church. What does that involve?
A: Right. Well, my activities really with the church Im not

a member of that church community but they actually have just a
gathering for elderly people who would just come for a coffee
morning and the pastors are there who can discuss any15 just
really social problems that they may have. But really its just
a chance for the elderly people to come to gather and have a
good chat. And I dont really have a major impact on any
particular activity but I attend just to have a chat with the
elderly that are there. And its quite rewarding just to get an
insight to their lives, an insight to the problems that they
12
A general physician would love to hear such things said about his or her speciality. This interviewee is
doing very well at this stage.
13
This is pretty much a model answer overall. The language used and the points made are both succinct
and insightful.
14
A hint that the panel are impressed. Not always easy to spot on a transcript!
15
The question has surprised the interviewee who is still trying to find his feet. This opening sentence
looks like hes buying time, whilst trying to get the trajectory of the answer right.
face as elderly people within the community.16 And on one or two

occasions Ive been able to be helpful by just pointing them in
the direction of some appropriate advice or just sort of
encouraging them to attend the GP for a medical problem on one
or two occasions that they may have mentioned that to me. But
overall, its just been a very rewarding experience spending
time with older members of the community and getting to know
them better. 17
Q: Right. What I want you to think about is has that equipped

you with any specific skills or general skills that you feel
would be valuable to you as a future doctor?18
A: Yes, I think it has actually. Let me just think about that

for a second.19 I think really in the realm of communication I
would say thats been most valuable. I dont have any
grandparents that are alive. I dont have any real elderly
people that I can interact with. And yet, certainly from my work
experiences I learned that the majority of patients one deals
with as a doctor are often the elderly. And I think this has
really helped me just to build up rapport with the elderly and
feel comfortable talking to them, chatting to them, an
appreciation of the typical problems and challenges that they
face. And so, I think in a very general sense it has helped more
16
This is the key point that the interviewers will relish although I feel he could have made more of it with
perhaps an example.
17
The point has been understated and would definitely have benefitted from at least one example of how
he was able to help. The evaluation at the end is good, but again he could have mentioned that in
medicine ones patients will be largely elderly and developing such a rapport will be useful. However,
sometimes it is better not to overstate ones case especially on an area of the personal statement that may
be weaker to avoid further questioning. Perhaps this answer deliberately ends on a note that is aimed at
preventing further discussion on this area.
18
The interviewers probably sense a further point can be made here and stay with the topic. Perhaps they
too sense that an example is needed.
19
Always worth asking for some thinking time when surprised by a line of questioning. This is good
interview technique.
from a communication and understanding view point than anything

more specific than that. But I think it has been useful.20
Q: OK. The next think I would like to ask about is the point on
your CV where you mention that youve been a captain of the
school table tennis team. Youve been a captain of the school
rugby team. You have been a mentor to some junior students and
youve also been a school prefect. These appear to be all
activities where you are leading a team of people or certainly
in a position of responsibility. Any reflections on those
experiences, particularly with regard to leading a team, that
you feel have been valuable lessons in terms a medical career,
please?21
A: Yes. I think leading a team is something that I have had to

do on a number of occasions as you can tell from my personal
statement. I think as you lead you team you must learn about the
dynamics of each specific team. And that varies hugely between
different teams. And I find that Ive succeeded more in a
leadership role when I have best appreciated the dynamics of the
team and the individual strengths and weaknesses of the team
members that are under my leadership. And most of all,
particularly in a sporting arena its important to appreciate
that as a team leader you are not necessarily making all the
executive decisions, nor are you expecting that everybody should
follow your plan to the letter. Thats not how it works at all.
As a team leader youre really just guiding the overall
direction of the project and sort of offering encouragement to
various members to display their skills to the best of their
ability. And sometimes that involves bringing members to the
fore who have certain skills but perhaps are not being allowed
to express them fully. And other times sometimes in
communication type exercises you might find that there are
members of the team who are particularly vocal and crowd out
20
No examples given but he does cover some of the ground mentioned in point 17 and does make a valid
point to finish off the discussion.
21
This is a typical question and requires some insight into team dynamics, preferably with examples.
other less vocal members and youve got to work through those
dynamics, and try to ensure that everybody gets a fair voice.
And I think as a leader of a team that is probably the most
difficult to do properly and effectively.22
Q: Right. And how does that relate to you experiences of doctors

and how they must behave within a team?
A: Well, most of your junior years as a doctor are spent being a

member of a team, not necessarily the leader of a team. But in
some instances you are required to make decisions that affect
your juniors that affect other multidisciplinary staff. And at
the same time other ...sometimes you are a member of a team
thats lead by the consultant and you must play your role within
that team. So, I think having an appreciation of team dynamics
is essential to a medical career. Gone are the days when as a
doctor you are sort of a sole actor. And even if you are working
as a consultant, youll still be part of a larger team. There
will be management pressures from above and there will be other
colleagues who are not necessarily subordinate to you but who
are equal to the stakeholders within the patient treatment
environment. And thats important to appreciate.23
Q: I would like to ask you a very general question. You will no

doubt be aware of the controversy surrounding the beef industry
at the moment. Should beef eating be banned?24
22
The strengths of this answer lie in the interviewees appreciation of different team dynamics for
different leadership roles. He is lucky to have plenty of examples directly from his personal statement, but
one must have some examples of teamwork and leadership before any medical school interview.
23
Not bad but he could have answered this better. Again an example from his work experience would
have strengthened this. In medicine not much can be achieved without effective leadership and effective
teamwork. A good example of this would be an operating theatre or a ward round. Ideally experience of a
multidisciplinary team meeting during work experience should provide plenty to talk about.
24
Often an ethical topic will be introduced in this way: the asking of a very general question. The
interviewer should be alert and detect the underlying theme that will need to be explored. In this case the
topic revolves around beef, which was an area of controversy at the time of this interview with the BSE
and CJD link being explored. The UK government were under pressure to ban British beef due to the
perceived risk, but they only banned high risk types of meat near the brain and spinal cord. Although the
A: Right. I think what youre referring to here is obviously the

mad cow disease issue and whether beef eating should be banned
because of the perceived risk of contracting BSE or CJD, the
human equivalent of that, through eating beef.25 I have my own
views on it but obviously there are two sides to the argument.26
I mean, my own view is that currently there is probably not
enough evidence to ban beef. And I think the harms caused by
such a decision based on the current evidence would probably
outweigh any benefits. The benefits of a ban I feel currently
are doubtful. Let me just explain that a bit further. I think
there have been very few cases of CJD at present. The link to
eating beef is I think currently still not a the link between
eating beef and contracting CJD is still tenuous. Were still
awaiting more evidence on that link and although theoretically
there is a link, and certainly there is a potential link to be
made there, the evidence is still something that were waiting
for.27 And I think to make policy decisions based on evidence
that does not quite exist yet and that is perhaps
circumstantial, put you in a weak position. The other side of
the argument, of course, is that there are lives at risk, that
the disease has no current treatment and therefore every
precaution should be taken to prevent that. And I do appreciate
medical evidence was sketchy and speculative the public outcry was quite vocal. This has all the common
themes of any ethical type problem that interview panels enjoy discussing. The key is to stick to
principles and recognise the arguments on both sides in your answer.
25
The interviewee has detected the topic to be discussed and is actually beginning his answer with a clear
outline of the topic at hand. This is an excellent technique and ensures that the interviewee and panel are
all clear about what is to be discussed.
26
It is important to always state that there is more than one view. Where there is legality involved make it
clear that you know the law and that it must be followed. In issues like this one where it is more of an
ethical or practical judgment there will be many views which should be appreciated and your own view
should also be provided and justified.
27
This was also a debate that tested ones understanding of scientific issues in the media. The media may
cry for some action where there is controversy but as doctors we must always remain clear on what the
evidence shows.
that argument as well, and I think it is a difficult decision.28

But I think on balance I personally feel that without stronger
evidence of the link between eating beef and contracting CJD and
without greater numbers I think that the harm caused, for
example, to the industry, to livelihoods would probably out way
the disadvantage that present. But I probably dont know enough
about the specific evidences to make further comment on that and
certainly Ill be very prepared to change my mind if the
evidence was stronger. But thats my current view. 29
Q: Right. OK. So, you just dont think that there is some link
between beef eating and contracting CJD. You just carry on as
no And you would advise people to eat beef, would you?30
A: I would not necessary advise people to eat beef, I would

probably allow people to make an informed decision. I appreciate
thats difficult with the media making their own sort of
judgments on us and putting their own advice out. I appreciate
that as a policy maker you would have to give some official
advice. I think the current advice which is to avoid offal and
other high-risk beef but to continue to eat the main, normal
sort of meat thats available out there I think thats
probably good advice and I would stick to that. Its just Im
not saying that there is no risk, Im just saying that as far as
I know there isnt enough evidence to change the current policy.
But Id let people make an informed decision and if people are
worried, then they could exercise their free right not to eat
28
There are always two sides and the panel may well push you into a corner. A sentence like this is good.
You can always come back to it and repeat it if they press you to change your mind. It shows that you
understand the difficulties and the views of other people but have come to your view after careful
consideration.
29
Some humility is very disarming and should be shown in any area of controversy. Remember that the
panel can run rings around you and make you look very foolish if they want. This interviewee is playing
his cards perfectly at present.
30
This interview is more difficult than the average interview. After an excellent answer, the panel want to
push the interviewee further to see if he falters.
beef until more evidence is available or until the safety of

beef could be proven beyond any doubt.31
Q: Right. So, you think the balance of risk lies in favor of

doing nothing at the moment. 32
A: Yes, I do think so. I think there are many activities that

people do willingly participate in knowing that they are risky
activities and the risk associated with those activities is
actually higher than the risk that has so far been shown and
its higher even than the risk thats quoted in the worst-case
scenario predictions really. So, for example, even driving a
car, flying on an airplane, all those things are associated with
risks of harm and people do appreciate those risks but they
still decide to take those risks on. So, I think we are in a
similar situation here. 33
Q: Right. So, would you then allow people to carry on smoking...

...or what are your views on smoking? Would you ban smoking or
would you let people smoke? And how does that compare to the
beef issue?34
A: Well, this is an interesting question. Of course, the risk of

smoking is much greater perhaps, certainly more proven than the
risk of eating beef. We know that there is a strong link between
smoking and lung cancer. Even though not everybody that smokes
31
The answer focuses more on the media and PR aspect, but nevertheless the interviewee still sticks to his
original point of view. This is quite a display of confidence. One must be careful to re-consider ones view
in this situation as the panel may be pointing you to some new evidence or a slightly different scenario. In
this case I think they are just trying to make sure he is sure about all the relevant issues.
32
Again, more pressure is put on this candidate. My view is that he has already displayed a good grasp of
the issues and has already convinced them that he is good enough for their medical school.
33
This is another way of dealing with the problem. Give examples from other spheres of life and thereby
show that you are actually being very reasonable indeed.
34
This is becoming a difficult interview! This question further explores the issues around public health
policy. Of course there isnt a consistent policy from any government and the interviewer wants to
explore the candidates understanding of this.
gets lung cancer, the link is beyond any doubt. And there is a
significant risk if you smoke long enough and heavily enough,
then you are a significant risk of lung cancer. And there are
other cancers and other risks associated with smoking. And
certainly if smoking were to be introduced today, I feel that it
would be too risky an activity to be permitted or to be
legalised. It would be a too risky a drug to be legalised I
think. However, currently a lot of people smoke, a lot of people
enjoy smoking and I think they do appreciate the risks. So
again, its one of these difficult questions: should you ban
something that people already appreciate and already understand
the risks of or should you allow them to exercise their free
will? There are obviously two arguments to this as with anything
else. There is an argument to banning it and proponents of that
would say that people are not aware of the risks, they are often
enticed into smoking at a young age before they are able to
fully appreciate the risks. Once they are dependent on nicotine,
they find it difficult to give up. Theres a social pressure to
smoke because a lot of other people are also smoking and
therefore again that makes it difficult for one to appreciate
the risks of behavior which seems widely sanctioned by society.
So, that argument exists and I do appreciate that argument as
well. I would say that Im not 100% sure which way I would go on
that. I think certainly if I were a policy maker and cigarettes
were brought to me to be presented to the public and were not
already in wide circulation, I would not allow it because the
evidence against smoking is so strong. But with the current
situation that we are faced I think if you ban smoking, you
would be taking the rights of a lot of people away to pursuit a
risky activity, the risks of which theyre fully aware of and
they fully appreciate.35
Q: Right. OK, thats an interesting argument. I think youll

find a lot of doctors which actually disagree with you. One
35
This displays a good grasp of all of the issues involved. In particular smoking was only found to be
harmful long after it had become a widely accepted activity. The issue of how much the state should
concern itself with individual risk taking is important to mention here. The interviewee does well to do
this. His own view is made clear and seems balanced.
point perhaps you didnt consider is the economic load that

smoking places upon the NHS. What do you think about that?
A: I appreciate that. I know that there are huge pressures on

the NHS. Smoking related disease does place a huge of burden
upon the health system.
Q: And what do you think about that?
A: I know that there are views about perhaps not treating

certain smoking related diseases or... Its a slippery slope
really where I think if you can accuse a patient with a disease
of having caused the disease themselves because of a high-risk
activity they were involved with well, yes. Smoking related
diseases, if someone smoked for 50 years and get lung cancer
yes, it is their own fault.36 But I dont think that as a doctor
you are charged with making the decision about whether or not to
treat them. Yes, of course, its an economic burden. But then,
so is someone that engages in high-risk sporting activity and
sustains a musculoskeletal injury. So is some somebody that has
a very long commute to work every day and eventually is involved
in a road traffic accident.
Fine, I think with smoking the argument you can make is slightly
different but I think as doctors I dont think that we ought to
be making those sort of judgments even though we do appreciate
the economic argument and even though an appreciation of that
economic argument is a good reason to try and discourage people
from smoking, and to try and encourage people to give up smoking
on a baseis that it is a major risk factor. Thats all fine but
I think your duty as a doctor remains to treat anybody thats
sick.37 And the principles of NHS are just that that anybody
that has a medical problem can have it treated free at the point
36
Thats a bit harsh. I would put in possibly or it could be said that
37
This sentence is really the crux of this argument and is the simple answer to any question along these
lines.
of access and no judgment should be made about their behavior,

risky or otherwise.38
Q: Right. Thank you very much for that. Moving on, before we
conclude the interview just want to give you one last chance to
present your case to us and we would like to ask you why we
should select you for a place here rather than anybody else?
What do you offer this medical school that we should be
considering, lies in our favor?39
A: Well, the first thing I would say is that Im very committed

to a career medicine. I think Ive shown from my CV that I have
a full appreciation of what a career medicine entails. I
understand the difficulties, I understand the commitment
required. So, I think with me, first and foremost, you have a
candidate that I feel has a very good chance of completing the
course successfully and all excelling at the course, and of
becoming a good doctor at the end of it. So, I think that
probably would be your first concern and I hope Ive put that to
rest today with the quality of my CV and the quality of my
answers. I hope Ive done myself justice in that regard.
Secondly, I think Im able to offer a lot of extracurricular
activity that would hopefully benefit your medical school. In
the sporting arena as youve seen Ive excelled at rugby before.
My intention would be to pursue that to the best of my
abilities. I play the trombone and imagine that I would
hopefully find a place to play if I can within the university
orchestra. I enjoy teaching and mentoring and I know that you
have a mentoring program where senior students can mentor the
more junior students. Ill be very, very keen to be involved
with that as well. Finally, Im interested in research. I would
love to get involved with research projects provided I can do
all my examinations and my normal clinical work to the best of
38
A good point that is difficult to argue against assuming your interviewers all work in the NHS and
largely agree with its principles!
39
An easy question to prepare for but its equally easy to get stumped unless youve thought about it
beforehand.
my ability. If I had any time or opportunity available, I would

love to pursue research and get involved in as many research
projects as I possibly can. So, I guess I would say that I dont
just want to be the average student that gets a pass and just
gets some medical degree at the end of it, I want there to be
more to show for that. Im motivated to do that and I hope that
Ill be one of the students of whom you can be impressed at the
end of my five years and I hope that I can then give you a
reason to be proud of your medical school after completing my
studies here.40
Q: Fine. Do you have any more questions for us?
A: Yes. I noticed that the medical degree has gone significant

revisions this year and last. So presumably my intake, assuming
I enter at the end of this year, will we be put on to the new
course or will we still be in this sort of transition period?41
Q: Good question. No, I think you will be the first cohort that
are entirely on the new course. So, hopefully itll be a good
course we have for you guys And hopefully you will benefit from
that. OK. Any more questions?
A: No.. Thank you.
Q: Alright, thats all then. Thank you very much.
Outcome: Conditional offer to read medicine
40
This is a good, if lengthy answer and can be divided into the following categories:
a) A realistic idea of the career

b) Extracurricular achievements that will perhaps continue at university
c) Interests in the activities of the medical school beyond what is expected
41
This shows a good knowledge of the university and their current course structure. This candidate has
done very little wrong and will have impressed the panel.
There are two interviewers. They all face the interviewee over the table. The chairs are soft and
comfortable. The candidate has been on a tour of the university with other students earlier in the
day. The interview is informal in tone and shorter than average. The candidate was given a
conditional offer to read medicine.
Q: Good afternoon. Welcome to ____ University. Take a seat.

Right. These are the members of the panel_______ So, weve been
looking at your CV. Its an excellent CV.
A: Thank you very much.
Q: So, well just ask you a few questions and if you can give us
the answers as simply as possible in your words, try not to be
too nervous and hopefully youll find that it should be a
straightforward interview just looking at various aspects of
your application really. So, just we want you to relax if thats
OK.42
A: Thank you very much.
Q: Right. So, the first thing I want to do is just to ask you

why you want to do medicine?43
A: Right. Well, the main reason I would say is that my interest

first started in medicine when I saw a family member become very
sick. I remember trying to visit them at the hospital, seeing an
oxygen mask on their face and I realised actually that my
relative was very helpless in the face of disease and it really
42
Putting her at ease. This may be because she looks especially nervous. Equally it may just be that these
interviewers are nice people. Well find out shortly.
alerted me to the frailty of the human condition. That struck me

and I felt that apart from the doctors there was very little
else that anybody else could do. And I saw the doctors play
their part and were able to make a diagnosis and target
treatment very efficiently and very effectively. I remember that
that was delivered in the context of a great deal of compassion
and professionalism and I think my enthusiasm to study medicine
really does come from that experience. Following that my
interest in medicine increased as I furthered my interest by
pursuing work experience, placements where I was able to
experience the job at first hand, to shadow doctors at first
hand and really get an insight what the job actually entails on
a day-to-day basis. Following that I think studying science GCSE
and science A-levels has taught me a great deal about the
scientific world and how that is hugely relevant to a career in
medicine, and thats something that Ive come to appreciate more
gradually really. So, thats what really are my main reasons to
study medicine.44
Q: OK, thats very good. Youve made up very clear. So, really
its a single experience that you had early on that sparked your
interest, and more youve find out and more youve really been
encouraged, so to speak.
A: Yeah, thats right.
Q: OK. Well, just go a little bit more into this family member
of yours that was sick. Do you know what was actually wrong with
them at the time? Do you remember, presumably youre quite
young? 45
44
An early interest sparked by a family event. Further research into the career perpetuated further interest.
This is a formulaic answer but delivered well.
45
Any disease mentioned can be asked about. You dont need to know exact pathology, after all thats
what you want to learn at medical school, but there should be some evidence of having read further into
areas that have clearly had an impact on your decision.
A: Yes. I was about 10 years old at the time and I dont know
exactly what they had but I was told it was pneumonia, and I
presume it was treated with antibiotics and oxygen I dont
remember too much about the details of that specific event, more
of what I remember is the fact that really was the doctors who
were the only people that were able to help in that situation.
Q: OK, thats fine. Well, you mentioned pneumonia. Can you tell
us a bit more in general terms about what a pneumonia is and
just give as an outline of what you know about it? It doesnt
have to be too detailed.46
A: Well, its essentially an infection affecting the lungs and

obviously as the lungs become infected, usually with bacteria
but can also be a viral infection, the ability for effective
gases exchanges impaired and therefore the lungs are not able to
function efficiently enough to meet the oxygen requirement of
the body. Obviously if that process is not stopped, then that
can lead to the patient becoming worse and worse, and eventually
dying. So, the main way of treating that is obviously
antibiotics to aid the bodys own fight against the bacteria.
So, that would be my understanding of a pneumonia.47
Q: OK, thats excellent. Thank you. What I would like to ask is

why specifically based on your experiences did you decide upon
medicine as a career, presumably you also saw other medical
professions, other professions within the hospital being able to
help your relative, in particular nurses? Why didnt you
consider nursing, for example, as a career option?
A: Well, in that experience and in my subsequent work experience

Ive found nurses are largely not the clinical decision makers.
Ive found that they are more sort of an auxiliary to the
46
The candidate has mentioned a disease. She will lose marks if she has nothing to say about the disease
at all.
47
A very good summary for pre-med level which shows a good level of understanding. The interviewers
seem pleased with this.
healing process. Of course, they are important and of course,

they do a valuable job but for me with my interest in science
and my interest in being pivotal to the diagnostic and treatment
role, I feel that medicine really is the career that will offer
those chances to me.
Q: Hmm... What we getting at is one of the key qualities of a

doctor that you think youd be suited for as opposed to any
other medical profession or any other caring profession.
A: Well, I suppose what youre asking is what are these key

qualities that attract me to medicine Well, I think doctors are
pivotal to the decision making process and all the other staff
of the multidisciplinary team are secondary to that. And
although they have their own special role which cannot be
overlooked, I think the decision making is a key attribute of
the medical professional. They have diagnostic skills which is
what studying medicine is all about. And I think again these are
skills that are not possessed by other medical professions. They
are able to manage patients by targeting appropriate treatment
based on the diagnosis, so that involves prescribing drugs
again thats pretty much unique to the medical profession,
although other professions they are able to move in a little bit
on that area.48 When it comes to surgery as a doctor youre able
to perform within your realm surgical procedures which again are
treat conditions specifically. And in all of these really is the
doctor that takes ultimate responsibility for the treatment of
the patient. And I think these are what mark out a doctor from
other medical professions, and this is something that was made
very apparent to me on my work experience placements. 49
Q: OK, thats very good. So, you mentioned ultimate

responsibility lies with the doctors rather than any other
profession. In a hospital setting which particular doctor
48
Displays good insight with a hint at recent changes for nurse prescribers.
49
This answer is a perfect exposition of what marks out medicine from allied health professions.
carries ultimate responsibility for the patients care, do you

know?
A: Well, theres usually a team of doctors. Theres a consultant

at the top who takes ultimate responsibility and under him
theres obviously a registrar, there are other trainee doctors
within that particular specialty as well as FY when a FY two
doctors. So, ultimate responsibility is with the consultant.
Q: Yeah, OK. How long would it take you to become a consultant

once you graduate? Do you know what the career path is like? Can
you tell us a bit about that?50
A: Yeah. Well, it does vary within different specialties. It can

be up to 10 years after graduating.
It depends upon how quickly you pass the various post-graduate

exams that you have to do. It also depends on whether you take
some timeout during your training to do some extra research. One
of the registrars during my work experience was just doing sort
of a few days a week on the ward because he was taking some
timeout to do a MD which was obviously very important to his
career and that obviously would take an extra year or two out,
and would delay his time to becoming a consultant a little bit.
But about 10 years, sometimes less and sometimes more.
Q: Thats fine. So, you say in your CV that you were attached to
a general surgical firm. So, to press you a bit further on this,
how long would it take to become a general surgical consultant
once you graduate?51
50
These interviewers are clearly scoring her for insights into the career.
51
These interviewers are giving her multiple opportunities to score in each category. This is not untypical.
The interviewers are not out to force candidates to make errors.
A: OK. Were just going through the career path.52 I mean, youve
got one year as a FY1 and one year as a FY2. If you manage to
get into a specialist training for general surgery after that,
you do a CT1 and a CT2 year which are core surgical training
years. And after that you become a ST3. I mean, the ST training
is a minimum of six years following that point. So, the ST
training is a minimum of six years following that point. So,
that adds up to 10 years. So, if you dont have any career
delays, you pass all the exams on time, et cetera, then it
should take 10 years. The consultant on our firm had obviously
trained on the old system. I did ask him a lot about the
training process and it actually took him 17 years after
graduating to become a consultant. Obviously that period is
shorter in todays training program but certainly some people do
train beyond 10 years because of all the other reasons that I
mentioned.53
Q: Thats fine. OK. Well, moving on from the career path and on
to our particular medical school, what about this medical school
appeals to you? Why have you applied here? So, what do you think
about our particular medical school has attracted you to apply
here?
A: Really the first thing I found was just The most attractive
thing initially was just the pictures of the beautiful campus.
And obviously, I must admit that was the initial appeal rather
than any actual detail look at the curriculum.54 But I did that
obviously, and had a detailed look at the medical curriculum.
What I found was that youve got an excellent course and
52
She finally gets the point of this line of questioning. This is a key point to learn from these transcripts
and is what makes them so valuable. The answer the interviewers are looking is usually easy. However,
working out exactly what they are asking is sometimes difficult under pressure. Always ask for
clarification if needed or restate the question or subject matter before proceeding to answer as she does
here.
53
Not only does she display a good grasp of the training for junior doctors, she displays a nuance
understanding of career delays due to other factors at play.
54
Flattery where possible can work in your favour.
excellent reputation. I spoke to the medical students on the

open day. We had a group of medical students some clinical,
some pre-clinical who had a long chat with us. We were able to
ask questions directly to them. And the thing that struck me was
that they were all very happy with the course, they spoke very
highly of the course and they were very open about the one or
two areas where they werent happy or they thought that there
was room for improvement, or they found difficult. So, I found
that they were very honest overall, but the impression they gave
was of a very well-rounded course that catered for their needs
very well. In particular, I did find the fact that theres some
early clinical involvement, some early patient contact. I found
that very encouraging but the students were keen to point out
that there wasnt too much early clinical contact in the first
two years. So, its just one day a week in a clinical setting.
And I think that strikes the balance quite nicely in that you
dont necessarily want to go for extensive clinical contact
until you have your basic sciences But some of the clinical
contact is good because it lets you build up your confidence
for When you do you are attached to the hospital wards it also
allows you to build up your communication skills at an early
stage. Most importantly it allows you to see the relevance of
what youre studying in the lecture rooms. So, I like that sort
of balanced approach.
The other thing that attracts me to this university is that its

based within a large city with all the obvious attractions of a
large city. That seems to be a lot of extracurricular activity,
a lot of sports, music activities and other arts and crafts that
one can get involved with. So, that should hopefully keep us
busy outside of study-time.
Q: OK, brilliant. So, the next question which sort of leads

directly on from your last answer is that: what challenges do
you think you will face when you see a patient for the first
time as a student or as a doctor? So, your first clinical
attachment when you see a patient... what sort of challenges do
you think you will face?
A: Well, I think Ive already experienced some of those

challenges during my work experience. And I think the main thing
for me on work experience was I was able to talk patients but
it was knowing exactly how to approach a clinical situation
where the patient really has a problem and you may be in a
position to be able to do something about it. But even if you
have the knowledge or the insight into how the illness or
disease is going to be managed, how to begin that communication,
how to begin that consultation process I think that is
something which you have to learn and you cant just go into
that sort of situation without some prior training. So, Im
really hoping that the training we get facing patients early on
will equip me with a bit more confidence to do that because that
was something I really felt was lacking in me during my work
experience.55
Q: Are you talking about communication skills here?56
A: Yes, I think communication skills are key and I think that

even if you count yourself as a very good communicator which I
feel I am, I think that the interaction with the patients is a
very unique type of interaction. Theres a huge imbalance of
power and theres a huge expectation on the part of the
patients, and its very important to be able to respect that and
to respond to that with the appropriate level of skill and
expertise. And I think that is very difficult, I think that
requires very specific training and communication skills. So, I
am a little bit daunted about that but Im sure that the
training process will equip me with the relevant skills for
that.57
55
An unclear answer.
56
More help is on hand to help her clarify her answer
57
An appreciation of the difficulty of good communication and of the various factors involved in being a
good communicator. She already sound like someone that has had some communication skills training by
the understanding displayed here.
Q: OK. So moving on, what do you think are the greatest

challenges facing the medical profession today and in the near
future when youll become a doctor?
A: OK. Let me think about that one. Well, when I was on my work
experience I did hear a lot about medical professionals
complaining about de-professionalisation of the career. In
particular, the introduction of nurse practitioners and other
medical professionals who have been given more of the roles of a
doctor: in some instances being given limited prescribing roles,
in other instances being given sort of replacing doctors as a
lower cost alternative particularly in the GP setting but also
within some medical and surgical specialties.58
That causes rearrangement of service provision on the ground

without the agreement of all the various doctors that it
affects. I think that does cause a lot of unease, anxiety and
that is a challenge for the medical profession in the future.
The other challenge I feel, which is sort of related to this
one, is that I think there is a greater fragmentation of the
medical profession in terms of the various specialties being
seen as quite different, general practitioners being seen as
quite different to hospital doctors and each having their own
set of priorities, and each having their own set of demands from
government. And that I think makes it easy for any governmental
organization to divide and conquer the medical profession by
offering benefits to one at the expense of the other depending
on whoever appears to be in particular moment in time. So, I
think that doesnt do very much for the medical profession as a
whole and just least to increasing dissatisfaction amongst parts
of the medical profession. So, I think that again is an
interesting area. I dont know what the solution to that would
58
Topics discussed with junior doctors during work experience are worth reading about and mentioning,
if relevant, at interview. These are likely to be pertinent issues that are of concern to your interviewers as
much as any other doctor.
be but presumably a greater sense of unity within the profession

will probably be useful.59
Q: OK, excellent. Any questions you want to ask us?
A: No, thats fine. Thank you very much.
Q: OK. Goodbye.
59
This point has always been topical. Its probably the nature of the relationship between politics and
medicine, where the profession always favour autonomy and the government prefer to divide and rule. It
is however a good point to mention in a discussion of this sort as it will be met with wide agreement.
There are three interviewers and one medical student. The setting is formal, over a long table in
an old wood lined room. The interviewee is a graduate entry candidate who has previously been
awarded a biochemistry degree at a different university. The panel stand to greet him.
Q: So, the first question is why medicine? Why have you ended up
applying to medicine after your previous course?60
A: OK. The first thing I would say is that my interest has

always been in science. As you can see from my CV, after GCSEs I
pretty much pursued science at A-level doing chemistry, biology,
physics and m athematics. I always was interested in science and
its relation to human beings, in particular medicine. And I did
have an interest in medicine during my A-levels and I did apply
for Medicine at the time but unfortunately at that time I was
not able to get a place, I narrowly missed out from the place.
And at that time my financial circumstances meant that I didnt
have the opportunity to take a year out and reapply which is
what I was committed to do initially. So, what ended up
happening was that I got a place to study biochemistry and it
was a very interesting course, had direct relevance for
medicine. So, I thought actually Ill probably be able to make a
stronger application for medical school after a biochemistry
degree. I felt that it would also allow me to grow up and mature
a little bit, it would allow me to find a bit more about the
scientific background to medicine and I felt that I would be
able to then reapply to medicine in a stronger position, and
actually be able to contribute more than a typical medical
undergraduate with the biochemistry background. So, really
thats what Ive been aiming for throughout my Biochemistry
degree Ive taken great efforts to do extra work experience in
medical fields, to focus on medical related projects that would
60
Graduate entrants will always be expected to justify themselves a little more fully than undergraduates.
be of interest to me, perhaps of relevance to me in my future

medical career. So, studying biochemistry really has been part
of my role plan to eventually study medicine to become a doctor.
So, its not that its been a late decision. I think the
decision was definitely made very early on.61
Q: OK. Just describe the initial decision you made to study

medicine. You said that was before you did A-level. Just tell us
how you got there and what interested you at that stage, how
your interest developed. Just to go a bit more into that,
please.62
A: OK. Well, initially my interest was At GCSE time when we

were looking at various career options medicine really stood out
as an option that I really wanted to pursue. I think the main
aspect of that was the fact that you could combine scientific
knowledge as well soft skills of communication skills, et
cetera, and with those, provide very real help and very real
problem solving abilities to a wide range of human problems. I
think that was very inspiring to me and the fact that you could
do that as a career really stood out as unique amongst careers
really. So, that was that. I did some work experience at the
time, I did all the usual sort of things that the students of
that stage do. And really I think at that stage it was all about
sort of ticking boxes and trying to get my application as strong
as possible. Unfortunately, I applied it was a competitive as
ever. Although I did get the appropriate grades for medical
school, I didnt have an offer that year So, I just carried on
and did complete the Biochemistry degree. And Im very glad that
I did that because during the course of that Biochemistry degree
I have had further insight into medicine. I have seen various
aspects of medical research in much greater detail that I would
61
He relates biochemistry to medicine adequately. He mentions his early failure to get into medicine and
the difficulties he faced clearly. He has a list of advantages that his biochemistry degree has conferred to
his current application. Overall he makes a strong case as a graduate applicant.
62
The panel want some more detail into his account. This is to be expected for graduates.
have been able to do even during the medical course, had I

managed to get in at an earlier stage.63
Q: Very good, OK. Thats fine. So, what does Biochemistry as

undergraduate taught you as you say specifically with regards to
human medicine?64
A: OK. Well, the projects that Ive done have really been quite
medical related. Of course, in biochemistry you can focus on a
wide variety of aspects. For example, for my final year project
I decided to look at fungal infections in humans and we did a
large review initially looking at why fungal infections are
actually quite difficult to treat. There are actually very few
agents that weve got for treating fungal infections in humans
and animals. And so, the rest of my year was spent looking at
various receptor candidates within fungi that could be used. So
basically, single molecules in fungi were what we were looking
at specifically. We were isolating them and looking at whether
there were already existing drugs which could be used to target
those and whether they would in future perhaps to provide new
classes of active fungal drugs.65
Q: So, how does that relate to you becoming a doctor. How do you
feel thats going to help you?
A: Well, as a doctor obviously I will be involved in research.

And so, the fact that Ive been involved in a large research
project over many months I think will and planning that sort
of project, the logistics of that sort of project, the data
collection, the statistical analysis, all that sort of thing is
very important to any research. And so, I think Ive had a head
63
Excellent. He makes a strong case again and the quality of expression is also very good. Perhaps he
ends the answer strategically to lead the interviewer onto the next question.
64
The interviewers ask the most obvious follow on question.
65
...to which there is an answer already prepared. This candidate has done his homework. His project was
in a tiny field that only he knows about. If questioned further about it he should be on firm ground.
start there compared to other medical school students who may

not have had a similar background.
The other thing I would say is that having gone through three
years of university as a biochemistry student means that my
study techniques and my learning techniques are all more refined
than they were when I was 18, when I was actually starting out.
And therefore, that learning process does not have to be
repeated. I can hit the ground running and I can actually start
from day one with a good learning routine and a suitable method
for proceeding throughout medical school. And I hope that will
be useful for both preclinical and clinical studies.66
Q: OK. Thats very good. Now you mentioned the importance of

research and of course, theres a huge stress on evidence based
medicine these days. So, tell us a bit more about evidence based
medicine and the importance of research within medicine. What
are your views on that? Is research important for every doctor?
A: Yes, research is very important. The more I read about the

conduct of research within medicine, the more I realise that
actually I have a lot to contribute to that. I know that a lot
of doctors are encouraged very strongly to do research and to
provide the evidence base for a lot of current medical
practices. And there are areas where research is sparse and more
research and evidence is needed. It reminds of a recent
editorial that I read in the British Medical Journal about the
inequalities in research on a worldwide level and how some
countries actually have very little research funding and
therefore very little local research that goes on. And in those
places the medical practitioner will rely on research that is
not local to the environment so often. For example, in Sub-
Saharan African countries they will be using drugs which have
largely been developed in the western world or clinical methods
that have been developed in places which are far away and
66
Valid points that can be made by most graduate applicants. However its worth remembering that
graduates are not trying to out-compete undergraduates but fellow graduate applicants. This candidate
does well to focus on his relevant research as this is more likely to be unique to him.
applied to different situations. So, I think performing your own

research in your own locality is very important and I think for
that reason every medical practitioner should take an interest
in research, and if possible, should be conducting their own
research as well. And its also important that that research is
of a very high quality. Too often, particularly in my
Biochemistry degree, I found that research is published and the
quality is not as good as it could be and I feel that often the
training in research methodology could be better.67
Q: Very good. You think every doctor should be involved in

research, is that what youre saying?
A: No, not every doctor but I think there should be a major

encouragement towards every doctor at least taking interest in
research. Ideally, yes everybody would perform some sort of
research and then the academics would be able to perform the
more significant longer terms that would collect a lot of the
small research projects. So, its that sort of a system going on
that I think that will be very good. But personally I feel that
there should be an emphasis on people taking a responsibility
for research and being some sort stress on research being
performed throughout ones career.68
Q: Moving on then from the research and the more medical element
of it, I want to just go a little bit into your personal
interests. What are you able to offer the medical school as a
graduate medic as opposed to our typical undergraduate intake?69
Youve already mentioned that you have some learning skills and
youve already mentioned that you have developed some interest
67
This is a very good answer even for a graduate of biochemistry. He has clearly read up on research
methodology and the difficulties of research in practice. He shows evidence of regularly reading the BMJ
which again, I feel marks this applicant out as well above average.
68
This interviewee sounds like a future academic medic. Again he shows has a serious broad view of the
totality of research that is conducted and the variable quality.
69
This is an unusual line of questioning as he has already covered this area in previous answers.
in research. Apart from that is there anything else that you

feel you can offer?
A: Well, thats actually a difficult question. I think those are

the two major things that I feel I can offer.70 Beyond that I
feel I have managed to spend more time doing work experience, I
have managed to do a couple of extra attachments with the St.
Johns Ambulance and I have managed to get some more advanced
work experience which I would not have been able to get as an
undergraduate. So, I was able to get a recent work experience
with a placement attached to a vascular surgery firm and I was
able to go to the theatre and see a lot more than I would have
done, or that I was able to do as a 16-year old school student.
So, from that point of view I think my insights into the medical
career are better and more in depth than they would have
originally been.71
Q: Thats great. So, just tell us a little bit more then about
the vascular surgery unit. What did you see at the vascular
surgery unit? Perhaps tell us what was the one most interesting
that you saw? And just tell us what you learned from that.
A: OK. Well, at the vascular surgery unit I saw ..a lot of the
conditions were acute exacerbations of chronic conditions. But
the most striking thing really that I saw was when an elderly
gentleman was admitted with a ruptured abdominal aortic
aneurysm. And he arrived in casualty -- his blood pressure was
very low, he had many other medical problems and he was deemed
not fit for an operation. And so, the decision was made by the
senior doctors on the team to let him die and not subject him to
a lengthy and very difficult surgical procedure. So, that was a
very striking moment. Although I was not involved in the
70
Repeating what has already been mentioned is not a good strategy. But one can refer to it in this way to
remind the panel of relevant points made earlier before attempting to add new points.
71
Thinking on the spot, one often has to construct an argument in this way. He has decided to stretch a
single point out a little. He could have asked for a moment to think to help come up with more reasons
here.
decision making or in the discussion with the patient, I later

had a number of discussions with the consultant and the
registrar about why that decision was made, which sort of
patients, for example, would be suitable for surgery and how
they would decide who is suitable and who is not. So, that was
very interesting.
Q: Alright. Sounds like youve got some good insight there. Did
that prompt you to read any further about aortic aneurysms or
did you then look any further at management? Can you tell us a
bit more about, for example, which sort of aneurysms are
operated upon? Why you decide not to operate on one?72
A: OK. Thats an interesting question. I did read a little bit

further about and I do know that there are proposals for
screening programs for ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysms.
Sorry, not ruptured aneurysms but for the presence of aneurysms.
And once an aneurysm has been detected, there is a monitoring
program where a patient is subjected to, repeated I think its
annual or six monthly scans of the aneurysm with the diameter of
aneurysms measured. And also whether the aneurysm is growing
rapidly. So, if your aneurysm is beyond a certain diammeter, I
think beyond 5-6 cm or if its growing very rapidly, then those
indicate that it may rupture and therefore you must go in and
repair the aneurysm or deal with it before it ruptures and
before it causes a life threatening emergency. So, that was very
interesting. And then, further to that I read about screening
programmes as I said and whether these may in future be useful
in finding aortic aneurysms in patients where we dont know they
exist. So, obviously those aneurysms that have already been
found and are being screened is one group of patients but
theres this unknown number of aortic aneurysms in the
population at large that cannot be monitored and those are the
ones usually that would present with a certain rupture and
72
As mentioned earlier, mentioning any condition necessitates knowing a little more about it.
thats where the mortality73 is very, very high. I think its 50%
that die even before arrival in casualty and then further
mortality thereafter. And even those that actually are deemed to
fit for surgery and make it to the operating theater, a
significant proportion will not survive. All have significant
post-operative complications. So, all that was very interesting
reading for me.
Q: Excellent. So, thats very good. It looks like youve done a

lot of extra reading around that. So, thats very encouraging.74
The other thing I want to ask is what other features would a
patient sometimes present with the suggestion that a rupture is
imminent? When youre talking to the patient is there any other
sign or symptom that you look out for? Dont worry if you dont
know.75
A: Right. No, I suppose if theyve got swollen abdomen or the

blood pressure is very low.76
Q: Yeah. Well, that usually indicates that its already

ruptured. But along with that often they will get tenderness in
the abdomen and/or in the back. And sometimes an aneurysm can
become tender just before it ruptures as well. So, thats an
important finding. But thats very good, were impressed that
you looked into that further. OK. So, continue to concentrate on
this very same experience of yours, just tell us a little bit
more about communication skills. And you can use your ruptured
73
Reading widely as well as reading relevant medical publications allows one to use the correct
terminology, as here, and is much more convincing to the panel than simple explanations purely in lay
terms. This candidate is clearly someone that reads medical journal type articles on a regular basis.
74
An offer is pretty much guaranteed by the sound of this reaction. Admittedly he has performed very
well so far.
75
This is a difficult question and should not determine the outcome of the interview. The panel just want
to probe further because this candidate has shown so much knowledge in this specialised area.
76
Partly correct but not the answer being sought.
aneurysm as an example. But we really want to know about the

importance of communication skills.77
A: Right, OK. Well, in that particular example obviously

communication skills amongst the clinical staff were very
important. They had to, first of all, explain to the patient
that The patient was conscious, although quite faint, he was
told that he would not be fit for surgery and that he would be
looked after to the best of our abilities, but not be given the
___ of treatment that he needed because that would not work
essentially thats what he was told. So, that was interesting
conversation and I was able to watch that conversation occur, I
was able to stand at the bedside and it was very interesting to
see the very subtle and finely tuned skills that were brought
into play to communicate that to the patient. There was then a
discussion with the family after, I wasnt party to that. But
again, I was able to chat with the doctors afterwards. They were
able to tell me how that discussion went and what they said...78
Q: Right. And what would you say in that situation if you were
having to break that bad news to a patient. What would be your
strategy? What are these salient features that must cross your
mind when youre planning such a conversation?
A: Right. Let me think about that for a second.79 I think the

first most important point is obviously being honest with the
patient. So, youve got certain facts that you have to impart to
the patient. Then the second factor is how exactly you impart
them. And the first thing you have to do is you have to check
what the patient already knows. So, if you get an idea of how
much they know about their condition And then, you have to warn
77
This candidate has impressed the panel so far, but soft skills have not been mentioned yet. In this
interview it is probably fair to assume that this is a key area that applicants will be scored upon.
78
This example from a work experience placement has been very productive and has allowed this
candidate to score highly in multiple areas of the interview.
79
Always ask for time to think. One can never be penalised, and even a brief pause can help to clear ones
mind and formulate an answer.
them about it potentially is going to be very serious, very

important. And then, in plain terms you have to explain that
that is bad news and what the options are, and the reasons for
managing the condition in the way that youve decided to manage
it. So, provided you can do that with empathy and youve got to
avoid using jargon, youve got to tell your language to the
patients own understanding. And then, finally youve got to
check if the patient has understood everything that you say as
well. So, youve got to just ask the patient: do you understand?
Do you want me to go through anything again? You may have to
repeat certain aspects of it. Sorry, one thing I didnt mention
is that at the beginning you can ask the patient if they would
like That its an important decision and if they would like
their family to be there. Thats also quite important. In that
situation the patient was actually told that we could wait to
have the discussion once his wife arrived but he wanted to know
straight away. And actually it was better because he probably
wouldnt have been as alert about when his wife got there which
was a few hours later.80
Q: Right, OK. Any questions for us at the end of all that?
A: No.
Q: OK. Thats fine. Thank you very much.
Outcome: Unconditional offer to read medicine
80
A model answer that explicitly includes the following key communication points:
a)Honesty
b) Checking how much the patient already understands
c) Using laymans terms
d) Avoiding jargon
e) Empathy
f) Involving relatives if needed by the patient
g) Checking the patients understanding at the end
There are four members of the panel but only two ask questions. The interviewee is studying a
mix of arts and science subjects at A2. She has been on a tour of the campus earlier. She enters
the room and shakes hands with all members of the panel who are keen to put her at ease.
Q: Hello. Welcome to ______. Did you have a good journey today?
A: Yes. I caught a train up. Luckily it was on time so that was

all very straightforward.
Q: Thank makes a nice change. And have you been on the tour
today?
A: Yes, I have actually. Its a quite good opportunity to see

the medical school. I did see it at the open day as well but I
was able to ask some of the students about various aspects of
the course which was quite beneficial.
Q: OK. So, Id just like to ask you initially by Just looking

at your A-levels you can see youre doing English literature and
history as well as chemistry and biology. So, what made you
choose English and History alongside the more traditional
science A-levels and do you think thats going lend any extra
strengths to your application.81
A: Well, Ive always been interested in Literature, Ive been a

keen reader ever since I can remember really. And History again
has interested me Its also a subject I really enjoyed at GCSE.
And when I got an A star grade and a lot of encouragement from
my teachers to pursue it at a higher level, I decided to do so.
Of course, Ive always enjoyed biology, chemistry and science-
81
A leading question, partly designed to be an easy opening to the interview.
based subjects as well. So, its been quite a nice year, being
able to focus on both aspects science and art subjects. So,
thats been quite good. And yes, I do think it is of benefit to
a medical application. I think it makes my application quite
well-rounded and certainly in years gone by someone doing my A-
levels may not have been considered for Medicine, but these days
I know some medical schools actually will encourage that sort of
thing. And I feel it does allow me to have a slightly different
perspective on medical issues.82
Q: OK. So, when did you decide on a medical career and why do
you want to do medicine?83
A: I think Ive always wanted to be a doctor for as long as I

can remember. Even as a young child I remember watching doctors
on television. And one when my grandmother was taken ill saw her
being taken to hospital with her and witnessed the doctors
treating her. Ive always been fascinated by that side of life.
However, my desire to do medicine really became more formalised
and took on a more concrete form when I was in my early teens
and I actually suffered an accident whilst skiing, and actually
broke my forearm. I had to be evacuated off the ski slope, and
ended up having an operation to realign my forearm bone. It was
in plaster for quite a long time afterwards. So, that put me in
touch in quite a close way with the medical profession. I had a
very good rapport with my doctors and really that was the first
time I got an insight in my teens into what doctors do, how they
care for patients and what sort of a career it is, what a
variety the career has and how many different pathways one can
follow within a medical career. So, those sorts of things became
apparent to me at that stage and ever since then really its
been a journey of learning more and more about the profession.
82
This candidate could have said more about the relevance of arts subjects to medicine. The history of
medicine is important to understanding modern medicine. There is some evidence also to suggest arts
students are better in situations that require empathy or good communication.
83
This is not always the first question asked. The only (near) certainty is that it WILL be asked.
And I must say the more Ive learned, the more interested Ive
become.84
Q: OK, thats very good to hear. Now looking at your mixture of

science and art A-levels and also your mixture of science and
art interests on your section 10, can I ask you what do you
think medicine is essentially? Is it an art or a science?
A: Well, I would it is the art of science85 in that it is at its

very base a science and it is based in science, particularly
modern medicine is definitely based on science and I think you
have to justify everything you do with a scientific background.
But it is the art of applying that science to a human setting
and in many ways the more artistic approaches are sometimes
required, particularly when communicating with patients,
particularly when deciding whether a certain treatment will be
the most appropriate for your particular patient. So, its the
art of working that human dimension into the scientific
subject.86
Q: Very good. Thats a good answer. We like that very much. So,
it does look like youve done quite a bit of work experience and
youve had good insights into medicine, youve volunteered at a
local nursing firm once a week for over a year and youve also
taken part in a bit of volunteering, in a bit of first-aid work
as well. So, thats excellent. With all your insights into the
medical world what wed like to hear from you is what do you
think is the hardest part of being a doctor? What is the most
difficult thing do you think?
A: I think there are various aspects of medicine which are very

difficult and which I think I will find difficult. But I must
84
This answer is not as impressive as the previous candidates answers. However she has a valid reason
and, although her answer could flow better, she will satisfy most interviewers with this.
85
An excellent turn of phrase. It needs to be delivered with the right amount of confidence and explained
carefully as she goes on to do.
86
This is a very impressive answer to a difficult question.
say theyre outweighed hugely by the rewards and I think thats

why medicine remains such a popular choice for medical students.
For me, during my work experience I found that doctors having to
break bad news was a particular difficulty which I hope my
training will equip me to prepare for adequately. I remember at
one point we had a lady who was very, very sick indeed and
needed to be admitted to the intensive care unit, and I was able
to watch the discussion with her family. The junior doctors had
to explain to the family that their mother was very sick and
that she may not make it but obviously all efforts would be made
to save her life. The way that communication happened was
obviously very professional and very effective but that didnt
make it an easier to witness and I think that would be a
particular difficulty.
The other difficulty I think with any medical career is really

the commitment and length of The commitment to the many years
that one has to have to the career path in order to succeed. So,
I think I am definitely prepared to take the long-term view and
to work at it for as long as I need to become a good doctor and
to be able to perform well in whichever specialty I eventually
pursue.87
Q: Fantastic, OK.88 So, what setbacks do doctors experience in

terms of their career at present? What are their main
difficulties more from a career point of view? Have you managed
to get any insights into that in your conversations with the
doctors?
A: Yes, I have actually. During my work experience we did have a

lot of chats about medical careers and every doctor was at a
different level of the career path and sort of be a common topic
of conversation primarily because it would be a source of great
87
Both difficulties are good ones to pick out. The first is well illustrated with an example.
88
These interviewers are very encouraging and are making plenty of positive noises throughout. Some
people thrive on this and manage to perform much better as a result. Unfortunately not all interviewers or
medical schools are as obliging.
stress to a lot of doctors, and I think that is because theres

a high risk of having major career setbacks due to various
bottlenecks within the career path.
So, there were changes to post-graduates training a few years

ago which did mean that a lot of people were left out of their
careers or asked to change careers very suddenly simply because
there werent enough training jobs for them to progress into.
And I know that that was a particular problem in surgery because
when I was actually ..during my work experience one of the
junior doctors did admit to me that he had to change paths very
rapidly going from a surgical career into general practice
simply because that year there were many more places in general
practice available and there were no surgical places available.89
And this doctor had a very agonizing dilemma to make as to
whether to wait for another year or to see whether any more
surgical jobs would be opened up and potentially waste those
years if the jobs didnt appear over the next year or two, or
whether to opt for a more available career such as general
practice. And he actually decided to go for general practice.
Although he was happy with his decision, it had caused him a lot
of anxiety and he was still upset that the system hadnt allowed
him to progress in the way that hed originally hoped. And he
was obviously a very good competent doctor. So, obviously he
felt a grief about that.90
Q: OK. So, what were the changes to the post-graduate training

program? Can you go into those a little bit more the most
recent changes?
A: The way I understand it is that the most recent changes were

actually to reduce the overall length of training and to make
89
This has been a very typical career problem for many doctors and is a current issue that you may be
asked about.
90
There are currently plenty of upset junior doctors in career paths that they have felt forced to adopt.
Many of them are quite senior and have seen many years of work within a particular field wasted as they
realise theyve hit a dead end. Read up on the MTAS fiasco of 2007 to find out more.
the training process a bit more predictable and to allow people

to have more certainty about the future of their training at an
earlier stage of their career. So, for example, for certain
surgical specialties pretty much two years post graduation you
get into a junior training post. After that you are selected for
a specialist training post and you are allowed to then carry on
all the way to a consultant level. And so, that gives you much
more stability and focus during those years whereas
traditionally you would have to recomplete at various stages and
you may face having to give up on your dream career quite later
on after completing quite a lot of training. So, personally I
think thats an advantage. Id rather know early on whether I
can finish a particular training program or not. However, it has
had its own casualties like the doctor I was describing.91
Q: Right, OK. We want to move a little bit more now on to the

NHS, the structure of the NHS. What do you think if you could
just highlight the key problem with the NHS Obviously there are
many problems, many successes as well, but what we want to know
is from your point of view if you had to pick one particular
problem with the NHS, what would that be and how would you solve
it?
A: OK. Let me think about that. Well, what I would say is that
the main problem I think with the NHS at the moment is probably
one of funding. With the ever increasing population which I
think is a more demanding population in terms of its health care
demands, its probably a population thats more prone to various
lifestyle diseases such as heart disease and some certain types
of cancer. I think the difficulty is maintaining a free service,
free at the point of access which is the ideal that the NHS aims
for. So, the difficulty I think is that the money raised via
taxation is probably not enough to provide that service
perfectly as was originally hoped. So, I think funding is
91
Her description is not very clear here but she gets the point across. It is worth reading up on career
pathways for each of the main specialties. Some allow early selection after FY2 and then a run-through
programme until consultant level. Others have split the training programme into junior and senior parts
with a competitive application process to get a run-through senior post.
probably the main thing if I could pick one thing, its the main
issue. More money can probably solve most problems. Of course,
it must be more complicated than that.92
Q: Yes. And your solution to that? Just put more money, tax
people more or do you think we should just make patients pay for
their treatment?
A: Well, I believe in the ideals of the NHS in that treatment

should be free at the point of access. So, I do believe that and
I dont think that that really should be negotiable. So, I dont
like the idea of patients having to pay upfront. So then, youre
really left with a form of either a compulsory insurance where
patients have to just pay in via taxation an insurance policy
which covers them all, an increase in taxation. And I know that
there have been other creative ways of getting more money into
the NHS such as the PFI scheme.93
Q: OK. So, what does that stand for?
A: Well, I think it stands for Private Finance Initiative or

Public Finance Initiative. Essentially its where you allow
private companies to come into the NHS and bid for contracts to
provide hospitals for the NHS. Its not only being used for the
NHS, it has been used for schools as well and other public
buildings. And its one way of very quickly getting money into
the system and allowing us to have some new hospitals which we
might need. So, thats the upshot. I know that the downside of
that is that the private companies then expect to be paid back
over many years for their investment. So, they will own those
buildings and essentially rent them out to the NHS and the NHS
will have to contribute some payments back to these private
companies. And there has been discussion in the media, quite
extensive discussion really, about how these companies are
92
A leading answer which begs for the next question to be asked.
93
A difficult topic with no easy answers. This candidates answer once again leads the interviewer to ask
the next question.
overcharging the NHS and how the country as a whole is in debt

to these companies, and the debt will continue for many years to
come, and how that is quite an unsatisfactory state of affairs
and how this contract could have been negotiated better, and how
the debt could have been reduced at an earlier stage. So, I
think thats an interesting discussion and I think that was one
way of bringing money in that possibly has had many criticisms.
Yeah, Ill leave it there.94
Q: OK. So, that is pretty good. So, youre not obviously a fan
of PFI then. I think you have probably plenty of friends in the
medical profession because it doesnt seem to have been a very
popular choice, does it at all. OK. Well, thats fine. Did you
have a chance to ask questions about the course itself?95
A: Yes, I did. Im quite aware of the fact the course is quite

integrated and the fact theres problem-based learning. It has
quite a high priority within the course.
Q: Alright. And then, what do you think the main difference is

for you as a student if you attend our course which primarily a
problem-based learning course? How do you think your approach
will differ from a more traditional course? Would you like to
just tell us a bit about that?96
A: Yeah. Speaking to the students I know that if its a problem-

based learning course, as a student you have to take much more
responsibility for your learning. ___ and you do have the
94
A good explanation of PFI. This is potentially a hot topic for discussion at interview.
95
He is referring to her tour earlier in the day. At some medical schools there is a chance to ask current
students about the course during the tour.
96
Any PBL (problem based learning) medical schools will want to know that you appreciate the type of
learning that will be expected of you. For any medical school interview, make sure you know:
How much (if any) of the course is PBL (some courses have a tiny amount whereas others are almost
entirely PBL)
What the split is between clinical and basic science is in the more integrated courses.
What the current strengths and weaknesses of the course are. (By speaking to current students)
freedom to direct your learning in directions that interest you.

But of course, youve got to cover the important aspects of any
subject by answering of problems that youre left with. Im
quite inspired and excited about the problem-based learning
course. I personally find that that way of learning suits me
very well. I like to be able to direct my learning to areas that
do interest me and I like to problem solve. I think thats what
we as doctors will be doing throughout our careers. So, I think
its a good way to begin your career by solving the problems as
if they were, for example, diagnostic challenges. And personally
I feel that when I solved the problem and then read further
according to my interest that that sort of knowledge is retained
much better than when I simply listen to a lecture and then end
up revising it the night before the exam. So, I look forward to
the problem-based learning and I know it doesnt suit every
student but personally that has been one of my main reasons for
choosing this course.97
Q: OK. Have you any further questions to ask us?
A: No.
Q: If not, then well just leave it there. Thank you very much
and you will hear from us very soon. Enjoy the rest of your day.
97
The advantages of PBL are listed in this answer nicely. The very aspects that frustrate some students
are the very thing that others find stimulating and rewarding. If youre being interviewed by a PBL
medical school and hope to get an offer to study there, this answer is a good one to have ready. It is not an
appropriate time to criticise PBL.
This interview is for a graduate entry medicine course. The candidate graduated a few years ago
and is currently working as an analyst in the banking sector in the City of London but is ready
for a major career change. There are two interviewers on the panel. The setting is formal.
Q: Welcome to our medical school. Weve been having a quick look

at your CV. You seem to have taken rather unorthodox career path
thus far in terms of arriving at a decision to apply for
medicine. So, our first question really is, what are your
reasons for wanting to do medicine and how did you get here?
A: OK. Well, obviously I come from a finance background. Im

currently working as an analyst for Credit Suisse and my
original degree was in accounting and finance.98 So, I was very
much heading towards the financial industry right from the time
of my A-levels. I had my heart set on that. Of course, family
members and family friends were involved in the finance
industry. And so, it was in many ways almost expected of me to
enter that industry. And theres a certain lifestyle and a
certain culture that surrounds people of that industry, and I
felt like I very much fitted in with that. And really I just had
to do all the things that someone in my surroundings would do to
end up in that sort of work. So, I feel that I never really gave
my career real reflective thought at that early age, the age of
16, 17 or 18, which is the sort of age where people are often
giving a lot of thought of where theyd like to go in life. I
did very well in my undergraduate degree having studied at
Cambridge, then did a Masters at Oxford and essentially after
that I was pretty much guaranteed the job in banking before Id
finished my post-graduate degree
98
When coming to medicine from a completely unrelated career, you must be able to clearly articulate a
good reason for your interest and when it started.
Q: I see, so, where did the interest in medicine actually begin

for you?
A: Right. Well, I would say that the interest really started

whilst I was at work at Credit Suisse. I had considered medicine
before, I was in touch with quite a few medical students and I
did look from a distance at what they were doing and always
found it intriguing. On a number of occasions I did think what
they were doing was more interesting than what I was doing. One
of my A-levels was Chemistry and I did find that it was sort of
an alternative career that I could have -- in a different life -
- been very interested in. As an undergraduate I didnt give it
much thought, but whilst working for Credit Suisse I realised
that the very things I enjoyed were things that would be sort
of a greater part of a medical career than they were of a
banking career.99
So, let me just give you a few examples to clarify what I mean.
I enjoy problem solving, I enjoy human contact, I enjoy solving
problems for humans on an individual basis. And all of that you
can do to a certain extent in banking, although obviously your
priorities are quite different -- your priorities are always to
try to get the best deal for your own team, your loyalties are
always to your own particular department. I was, later on,
involved in some large deals involving some of the big
pharmaceutical players. Again that got me thinking about the
medical side of things and really it was I guess towards the end
of my first year that I realised that actually I wasnt
comfortable where I was.
I enjoyed aspects of a banking career which were fairly marginal

and I wasnt enjoying the sort of cut and thrust of the job. I
then spoke to a colleague of mine who was at that time a junior
doctor who I knew from university and he really got me thinking
about medicine as a career at that stage. And the more I talked
to him, and the more I found out about medicine, I realised that
actually I was in the wrong place and Id be much happier in the
99
This is a very honest sounding account and delivered well so far.
environment where I could apply my science background and I

could care for people on an individual level and benefit people
on an individual level.100
Q: Well you might say that but... ...but obviously there are a
lot of careers that do allow you to do that, not just medicine.
Is there anything more specific about becoming a doctor that
appeals to you?
A: Yes. I think the fact that I would be able to take

responsibility for the care of my patients, that I would be able
to blend my knowledge plus my skills in communication or actual
physical skills, sort of combining those two things to aid
people. I think its that unique combination that medicine
offers which really appeals to me.101
Q: OK, youve made that quite clear. And coming from a banking
background are there any skills that you feel your background
has conferred upon you that you can now bring with you to the
medical profession?
A: Well, in terms of succeeding in a high-pressure environment,

Ive shown I can do that in my undergraduate degrees and also in
my successful career so far in the finance industry. In our
industry we obviously have to produce a very high standard of
work --there are literally no shortcuts that you can take at
all. And again that goes hand in hand with the standard required
of a medical professional. We are expected to go beyond our
expectations and we also are expected to develop excellent
general analytical skills which are fairly generic and can be
100
This is a good answer that explains, rather honestly, a change of heart once he started working at a
bank. He could certainly have been more succinct. He also mentions some pharmaceutical industry deals
but doesnt clarify how this should relate to his sudden interest in medicine. It reads more like a story of
dissatisfaction with banking than a real love for medicine at this stage of the interview.
101
This improves the previous answer by providing real aspects of medicine that he feels suited to.
applied to any high-level human endeavour. So, I think those are

generally transferable skills.102
Q: Can I ask you a question about commitment to medicine? It

does sound like youve made a decision to apply for medicine
rather late, sort of in the last two years or so. In that time
how have you shown your commitment to a medical career and how
have you gone about trying to find out more about what life will
actually be like as a doctor?103
A: Well, Im under no illusions about what life will be like as

a doctor and I feel that I do have a very realistic idea of what
the career involves both from my talks with doctors, colleagues
of mine or fellow students of mine from university and I feel
that has given me great insight into the career. Ive also shown
commitment by doing a number of weeks of work experience at two
separate teaching hospitals. And due to the very busy nature of
my job I had to actually use my annual leave, which is in very
short supply actually, for the purposes of getting work
experience. And that work experience allowed me to shadow
registrars on both surgical and medical firms and follow them,
and see what the job actually entails on the ground. And that
was very beneficial, it gave me huge insight of the profession.
And really it was at that stage that I finally thought that Im
doing the right thing by turning my back on the finance world
and moving towards a medical career.104
102
The points made here are:
a) Working in a high pressure environment
b) Analytical skills
c) Producing work of a very high standard
He could also have mentioned communication skills, and the ability to constantly learn new skills and
apply them to new situations.
103
For someone deciding to become a doctor at a late stage, having evidence of commitment is key. He
hasnt mentioned anything about his commitment yet so is probed further.
104
He has clearly worked hard to get experiences of medicine and clearly states that these strengthened
his resolve to apply for medicine.
Q: OK. On your CV you also mentioned that youve have had some
work experience in the third world Ghana, I believe. Is that
right? How did you go about arranging that?
A: Well, the way that was arranged it was actually part of my

work for Credit Suisse was that we had a deal for which I was
required to travel to Ghana to communicate with some banking
colleagues there. And basically, I extended my stay there after
making contact with one of the local hospitals in order to get
some work experience. I really thought that seeing how a
different countrys health care system worked would be very
useful and indeed it was very useful.105
Q: So, what did you find out about the Ghanaian health care
system? I think one of the panel actually has links to Ghana.
Q2: Ya.. Im involved quite heavily with the charity that does
some work in Ghana. So, Id be very interested to hear what your
views are of the country and the health care system there.106
A: Well, obviously the health care system in Ghana is a sort of

two tier system, quite similar to the UK. There is some public
provision and some private provision. The private provision also
is much more diverse than in the UK.. ... it includes everything
from.... I mean it includes doctors just running private clinics
all the way to local herbal practitioners and even traditional
witch doctors. So, theres a huge variety and many health care
105
This is what marks out this application as unique. Very few people have any international experience
when applying to medical schools. Also, the fact that he did not volunteer this information earlier when
asked about his commitment suggests that he is either understating his case or he is not aware of the real
value of his experience in Ghana to his interviewers. Perhaps his background means that he is not quite in
tune with what the panel most want to hear. My advice to him would have been to try to mention this
experience early in the interview and have many discussion points ready.
106
When a panel member is likely to know everything about a topic youve prepared for, its usually a
good sign. They will appreciate the common ground between you and you can lead the discussion into
areas that interest you both. However its important to be aware that any exaggeration or efforts to spin
your story for added effect can backfire and cause you to fail the whole interview. Make sure you remain
on safe ground and always concede to the superior knowledge of your interviewer.
treatment options available.107 However, the distribution of

health care across the cities is very unequal, theres very poor
coverage in some areas and there are some significant health
problems. My experience there really went a great way to show me
about the effects of malaria which of course is a curable
illness but claims a huge number of victims. I think its the
biggest killer of children under 4 or 5 years old according to
the World Health Organization statistics. And thats closely
followed by HIV and AIDS again which is something largely
treatable now but a huge killer out there. And I saw the effects
of both of these in my work experience: the complications of HIV
and AIDS as well as complications of malaria.108
Q: Good, OK. So, youve mentioned those two diseases, theres

another disease which follows closely behind those that youve
mentioned and its again a very big killer in Ghana and in other
Sub-Saharan African countries. Can you tell what that is?
A: In my experience I came across hepatitis quite a lot,

hepatitis B and there was a big prevention campaign in action at
the time.109
Q: OK, but theres actually a larger cause of death than

hepatitis which is Its OK if you dont know, its TB.110
A: OK, right.
107
A good way to summarise any foreign healthcare system is to compare it to the UK and pick out the
most striking differences. This is a good example.
108
This is exactly what the interviewer wants to hear: A succinct overview of his experience that matches
the figures provided by the WHO.
109
The points he makes are correct but are not quite the correct answer to the question.
110
This question was designed to detect evidence of further reading around this key area. Hepatitis is
indeed a big killer in Ghana, as is TB. There are rarely any points lost for failing to correctly answer such
a direct and rather difficult factual question. This is probably being asked because one of the interviewers
has a special interest in the area.
Q: So, it looks like you have actually gone and done something
which not a lot of undergrads or graduate applicants have
managed to do which is to see health care from the other side
which is very impressive. So, thats pretty good. What hobbies
and interests do you have outside of your academic life? I
noticed your CV is very much ...your personal statement is very
detailed about the experiences that youve had obviously in
Ghana, in the UK, in London and about your work in the banking
sector, but you havent really included very much at all about
any sort of hobbies or sports, or anything else that youre
interested in. Why do you think were worried about that?111
A: OK. Well, obviously one needs to have balance and in answer

to your question yes, I do go to the gym, Im involved in some
rock-climbing and I do play football at the weekends if Im not
working. Unfortunately, Im not involved in anything at a
serious level saying that as a team level, although I was during
my undergraduate years. Unfortunately, the line of work that Im
currently in doesnt leave much time to pursue those sorts of
activities. And unfortunately, Ive had to leave that aside for
a long time. I am very keen to get into the social and
extracurricular life of the university and I think that, as
someone whos been quite deprived of that side of life for a
while I think coming to a university, making use of your
excellent facilities is something that I really relish.
Q: OK. Now youre 23 years old this year, is that right? OK, now
obviously were not ageists in any way but does that affect your
potential career path after graduation? Is that something you
thought about?112
111
A lesson to always include enough in your personal statement to show you have a life outside of work.
Admittedly difficult for bankers to do this convincingly.
112
Any career pathway in medicine is likely to be long. Even GP is 5 to 6 years of postgraduate training.
Expect this question to be asked if you are a graduate. The older you are, the more directly you are likely
to face this sort of question.
A: Well, Ive looked in great detail into various career

pathways and even the longest career path at these days with the
run through training shouldnt really take more than 8-10 years
post graduation. Someone whos quite committed and quite focused
on the task in hand, I feel that whatever specialty I pursue
Ill be able to get through the program and I dont think Im
Well... Ill probably be approaching 29 when I graduate, so I
think hopefully therell be a number of career paths open to me.
I wont be an old man certainly before I make it in whichever
area I choose. But at the moment Ive left that very open and I
would like experience various aspects of medicine, surgery,
general practice, etc.113
Q: Thats very clear thank you. Thats really all the questions
we have for you. If you got any questions for us, then fire
away.
A: No, I think all my questions have been answered today during

the talk by your medical students. I was very impressed. Thank
you very much.114
Outcome: Unconditional offer to read medicine
113
He could also have mentioned the extensive service contribution made by junior doctors whilst in
training, the long career he will have after becoming a GP or consultant and the probably longer working
life that will result from increases in the retirement age.
114
This interview performance was not particularly impressive until the Ghanaian health care system was
discussed and the candidate took the opportunity to show his experience and extensive reading around the
subject. This should encourage interviewees to prepare well for key topics that provide strong areas for
in-depth discussion.
Need more help?
These transcripts should be read again after practising your interview technique.
For more application and interview advice, visit us at www.doceatdoc.com
We can review your personal statement, offer career advice tailored to your particular situation, and
review your interview technique before your big day.

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The Medical School Interview Spy

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The Medical School

A unique ghgg guide to interview

Produced and published by www.doceatdoc.com

2012 doceatdoc.com All rights reserved.

A quick word before you dive in...

The best preparation would be to spy on somebody elses interview

How to use this book

You can either:

Notice the following:

Q: Welcome to ______ Medical School.

Q: Youre very welcome, please take a seat. There are going to

Q: Weve had a look at your application. Its an impressive

What we would like to know from you to start with, is why on

A: OK. Well, for me, a career in medicine is really the perfect

both scientific -- in terms of diagnosing disease, and also the

Q: Right just go back a little and tell us how your interest

A: My interest really began when I was probably in my early

to the specific cancers by targeting the antigens on the cancer

Finally, I would say that I attended an access to medicine

Q: OK, just let me interrupt you there.7 Thats a very good

A: OK. Well, in the A&E department I think I really saw the

.More importantly I think was just to see the accident and

Furthermore, the other point that I really saw stress of an

a toll on the doctors that were working in these departments and

At the same time I saw the rewards of being able to have a

A: Well, I think on the general medical ward I really learned

Q: Right. OK, excellent.14 Well move on from your work

A: Right. Well, my activities really with the church Im not

face as elderly people within the community.16 And on one or two

Q: Right. What I want you to think about is has that equipped

A: Yes, I think it has actually. Let me just think about that

from a communication and understanding view point than anything

A: Yes. I think leading a team is something that I have had to

Q: Right. And how does that relate to you experiences of doctors

A: Well, most of your junior years as a doctor are spent being a

Q: I would like to ask you a very general question. You will no

A: Right. I think what youre referring to here is obviously the

that argument as well, and I think it is a difficult decision.28

A: I would not necessary advise people to eat beef, I would

beef until more evidence is available or until the safety of

Q: Right. So, you think the balance of risk lies in favor of

A: Yes, I do think so. I think there are many activities that

Q: Right. So, would you then allow people to carry on smoking...

A: Well, this is an interesting question. Of course, the risk of

Q: Right. OK, thats an interesting argument. I think youll

point perhaps you didnt consider is the economic load that

A: I appreciate that. I know that there are huge pressures on

Q: And what do you think about that?

A: I know that there are views about perhaps not treating

of access and no judgment should be made about their behavior,

A: Well, the first thing I would say is that Im very committed

my ability. If I had any time or opportunity available, I would

Q: Fine. Do you have any more questions for us?

A: Yes. I noticed that the medical degree has gone significant

A: No.. Thank you.

Q: Alright, thats all then. Thank you very much.

Outcome: Conditional offer to read medicine

a) A realistic idea of the career

Q: Good afternoon. Welcome to ____ University. Take a seat.

A: Thank you very much.

A: Thank you very much.

Q: Right. So, the first thing I want to do is just to ask you

A: Right. Well, the main reason I would say is that my interest

alerted me to the frailty of the human condition. That struck me