It's that time of the year again! People are applying to med schools and giving more exams and interviews! I've had a couple of people ask me about the test and interview for my own college, which is why I am re-posting what I wrote on my previous blog (the emo wolverine writes).
I hope this helps out people who will end up as my junior Class of 2020! If you think I should write a post on a different topic, feel free to leave suggestions in the comments!
The interview is basically called MMI (Multiple Mini Interviews) and the introduction given by the college is as follows:-
The college will conduct MMI as a part of its admission process. These will consist of 8-10 interactive stations of 7-8 minutes duration with a single interviewer at each station. The stations will focus on the following domains.
- Critical Thinking
- Ethical Decision Making
- Communication Skills
- Knowledge of Health care system
Final eligibility for admissions will be decided by the admission committee according to the applicant’s performance in all area of assessment.
Here are the questions I was asked in my interview (roughly).
"You are holding interviews for a job position and one of the applicants says that due to his father's ill health, he was unable to complete the application in time. He is now asking for an interview. What would you do?"
Me: Well, I'd ask him to bring some sort of proof of what he's saying, like a medical certificate of his father and see whether it was really serious or not.
Her: So you think you'd be able to judge whether the condition was serious enough for the candidate to personally attend to?
Me: No, I'd show the certificate to a physician and ask for his advice.
Her: Good, but what if the condition was fifty-fifty?
Me: Then I'd ask at least three physicians and take the majority opinion.
Her: Good, okay. Well, we finished your interview early.
Me: Oh okay. So, uh. What do you think about the Shifa and PMDC issue?
Her: That's not a problem, it'll be resolved in no time.
"You had an argument with one of your classmates. Your teacher has divided the class into groups and both of you are in the same group. You want the groups to be changed. Request your teacher for this"
Me: Uh. Hello, I'm a student in your class and I have something I wanted to discuss with you.
Her: *nods*
Me: Uh. You recently divided our class into groups for a study project and I want to ask you to change groups.
Her: Why?
Me: Because there's someone in my group who I cannot get along with.
Her: Why?
Me: *flustered* Well, we had an argument and I think our feelings will disturb the rest of the group.
Her: Who started the argument?
Me: *thinking along the lines of 'what the hell'* Uh. Well I'm not sure I could answer that question properly since I'd be biased in my own favor.
Her: Did you think about apologizing?
Me: I think we should give it time to cool off before apologizing.
Her: Okay but why should I change the groups? It's been this way for weeks and it would disturb the class dynamics.
Me: *I think we're roleplaying in two different time sets* I'll find someone willing to change groups.
Her: No one will change groups-
Me: *turns slightly frustrated and mad* No, I will find someone. Let me take care of this and then you can change the groups.
Her: Okay, tell me what the fight was about.
Me: *still mad* I didn't like her so we fought.
Her: Why didn't you like her?
Me: *realizes this was a bad course of action to take* Uh.. she uh... She does her work really late.
Her:...
Me:... *realizes this was a stupid reason to fight imaginary friend with and go complain to teacher for*
Her: ...
Me: *stares at shoes*
"What qualities should a good doctor have? Relate an incident which shows that you possess this quality"
Me: Relate an incident? That's going to be difficult.
Her: No it wont, just tell me something that you did at home or at school that would prove any positive quality needed for being a good doctor.
Me: *clearly confused and has no idea what to say*
Her: Why don't you tell me about an internship you did.
Me: Oh, yeah, I've done a few internships, Most of them were about teaching children in katchi abadis, not like, educating them, but trying to get them interested in reading books and stories and stuff.
Her: So what did you learn about yourself?
Me: I learned that I'm pretty patient. It's really hard to control a group of 8 year olds and keep them entertained *gets an approving nod from interviewer*
Her: And what was the drawback?
Me: Well, the only drawback I felt was the language barrier.
Her: *leans forward* Language barrier?
Me: My Urdu isn't topnotch and for katchi abadi children who are fluent in Punjabi and Urdu, it was a little hard for me to communicate properly with them.
Her: Your Urdu?
Me: Yeah, I came from the States about seven years ago. My Urdu is good for conversation, but it's mostly filled with English words, which I'm sure you know, those children would not have understood so easily.
Her: That's true. So what did you think about Pakistan's education system?
Me: Uh- *bells rungs to end interview*
"You run a tertiary government hospital which is supposed to provide free medication. However, you have a shortage and patients have to end up paying themselves. What would you do?
Me: I'd file a report to the government.
Her: ...
Me: And maybe start a trust or an NGO to get funds for these people.
Her: ...
Me: ...
Her: ...
Me: ....
Her: ...
Me: *sniffs*
Her: You have a cold?
Me: Yeah, it's just mild. It started on the weekend.
Her: Are you taking medicine?
Me: No, just hot milk in the morning.
Her: ...
Me: ....
*bell rings*
"You were exiting a car parking when you hit the car next to you and break something. The security guard sees and informs you that it is Doctor Y's car and he has been told of this incident. Call Doctor Y and tell him what happened"
Me: Hi, my name is Kanra and I accidentally hit your car in the parking lot.
Him: Yeah, the security guard told me, I asked him to get a hold of you. Did you come by yourself or did he send you?
Me: .... I came myself.
Him: Good, so you came by yourself?
Me: Yeah, I felt it would be better to deal with this problem face to face.
Him: Okay, so do you have a license?
Me: No...
Him: Then why were you driving?
Me: Wait, are we talking about real life or the scenario?
Him: ... the scenario.
Me: Oh! Then I'd have a license!
Him: ... Okay so if you have a license, you must be a careless driver to have hit my car.
Me: It was an accident and besides, my ability to park and unpark a car doesn't really affect how I drive on the streets.
Him: Fair enough. So who's going to pay for the damage?
Me: I'll pay it.
Him: Are you going to pay it or get your parents to pay it?
Me: It was my mistake so I should pay for it.
Him: Okay, that'll be all.
"You are a drug addict and you really want to get admission into a college. The college is conducting screening tests. What would you do?"
Me: I'd sign up for a rehabilitation program.
Her: But you don't have enough time to get the drug out of your system. What would you do then?
Me: I'd tell the college about my problem and ask them to make concessions for me. I'll tell them I'll join a rehabilitation program and kick off this habit.
Her: Would you think about switching your urine sample with someone else's?
Me: No way! That wouldn't be fair. I would go straight up to the administration.
Her: Okay. Do you think drug addicts should be doctors?
Me: Well, if they kick off the habit, then I think they should definitely become doctors so they can help other people kick it off.
Her: Oh you're taking it in a positive light. Good good.
Me: *psychology classes paid off! whoop whoop!!*
Her: Okay so what do you think about someone taking drugs in your class?
Me: I'd be okay with that person being in my class and I probably wouldn't have anything against them personally, but I'd like to stay away from that person.
Her: Why?
Me: I don't want them turning me into an addict.
Her: How do you think most people turn into addicts?
Me: I imagine someone randomly hands it to them and says "Hey check this!" and they taste it and get addicted.
Her: So is it their fault their addicted?
Me: No, it's not their fault if their addicted but they have the power to kick it off. If they stay addicted, it's definitely their fault.
Her: What would you do if one of your friends starts taking drugs?
Me: I'd talk to her and then call her parents and say "Do you know that your daughter takes drugs?"
Her: What about smokers?
Me: I don't have a problem with smokers as long as they're not smoking in front of me. They can go outside and so it or whatever, but not infront of me. They should respect my feelings about smoking the way I respected theirs.
Her: So why are you lenient towards smoking than towards drugs?
Me: Well, I think drugs are more dangerous, you'd literally watch a human being degrade into an animal. I think that's scary and as a friend, I should stop that from happening.
*bell rings*
"Here is a table of a survey conducted by an ice cream company who wants to launch a new flavor. Look at the data and explain which flavor they should launch"
This one would be really hard to explain because there was a table of data and I kept referring back to it but the main point I focused on was restricted samples and how you CANNOT survey ice cream flavors from adults when it's actually the children who consume it and to put flavors that people like up front, not random flavors the ice cream company likes.
"Why do you want to be a doctor?"
I can't remember this one really well, but just this snippet.
Him: 70% of females sit at home after getting a degree.
Me: I will be that 30%
And that is how my interview ended xD My percentage was 68%/87.5% and my final percentage is 79%. That means that out of 12.5, I scored an 11 in my interview. Not bad, don't you think? ;)
I hope this helps out people who will end up as my junior Class of 2020! If you think I should write a post on a different topic, feel free to leave suggestions in the comments!
The interview is basically called MMI (Multiple Mini Interviews) and the introduction given by the college is as follows:-
The college will conduct MMI as a part of its admission process. These will consist of 8-10 interactive stations of 7-8 minutes duration with a single interviewer at each station. The stations will focus on the following domains.
- Critical Thinking
- Ethical Decision Making
- Communication Skills
- Knowledge of Health care system
Final eligibility for admissions will be decided by the admission committee according to the applicant’s performance in all area of assessment.
Here are the questions I was asked in my interview (roughly).
"You are holding interviews for a job position and one of the applicants says that due to his father's ill health, he was unable to complete the application in time. He is now asking for an interview. What would you do?"
Me: Well, I'd ask him to bring some sort of proof of what he's saying, like a medical certificate of his father and see whether it was really serious or not.
Her: So you think you'd be able to judge whether the condition was serious enough for the candidate to personally attend to?
Me: No, I'd show the certificate to a physician and ask for his advice.
Her: Good, but what if the condition was fifty-fifty?
Me: Then I'd ask at least three physicians and take the majority opinion.
Her: Good, okay. Well, we finished your interview early.
Me: Oh okay. So, uh. What do you think about the Shifa and PMDC issue?
Her: That's not a problem, it'll be resolved in no time.
"You had an argument with one of your classmates. Your teacher has divided the class into groups and both of you are in the same group. You want the groups to be changed. Request your teacher for this"
Me: Uh. Hello, I'm a student in your class and I have something I wanted to discuss with you.
Her: *nods*
Me: Uh. You recently divided our class into groups for a study project and I want to ask you to change groups.
Her: Why?
Me: Because there's someone in my group who I cannot get along with.
Her: Why?
Me: *flustered* Well, we had an argument and I think our feelings will disturb the rest of the group.
Her: Who started the argument?
Me: *thinking along the lines of 'what the hell'* Uh. Well I'm not sure I could answer that question properly since I'd be biased in my own favor.
Her: Did you think about apologizing?
Me: I think we should give it time to cool off before apologizing.
Her: Okay but why should I change the groups? It's been this way for weeks and it would disturb the class dynamics.
Me: *I think we're roleplaying in two different time sets* I'll find someone willing to change groups.
Her: No one will change groups-
Me: *turns slightly frustrated and mad* No, I will find someone. Let me take care of this and then you can change the groups.
Her: Okay, tell me what the fight was about.
Me: *still mad* I didn't like her so we fought.
Her: Why didn't you like her?
Me: *realizes this was a bad course of action to take* Uh.. she uh... She does her work really late.
Her:...
Me:... *realizes this was a stupid reason to fight imaginary friend with and go complain to teacher for*
Her: ...
Me: *stares at shoes*
"What qualities should a good doctor have? Relate an incident which shows that you possess this quality"
Me: Relate an incident? That's going to be difficult.
Her: No it wont, just tell me something that you did at home or at school that would prove any positive quality needed for being a good doctor.
Me: *clearly confused and has no idea what to say*
Her: Why don't you tell me about an internship you did.
Me: Oh, yeah, I've done a few internships, Most of them were about teaching children in katchi abadis, not like, educating them, but trying to get them interested in reading books and stories and stuff.
Her: So what did you learn about yourself?
Me: I learned that I'm pretty patient. It's really hard to control a group of 8 year olds and keep them entertained *gets an approving nod from interviewer*
Her: And what was the drawback?
Me: Well, the only drawback I felt was the language barrier.
Her: *leans forward* Language barrier?
Me: My Urdu isn't topnotch and for katchi abadi children who are fluent in Punjabi and Urdu, it was a little hard for me to communicate properly with them.
Her: Your Urdu?
Me: Yeah, I came from the States about seven years ago. My Urdu is good for conversation, but it's mostly filled with English words, which I'm sure you know, those children would not have understood so easily.
Her: That's true. So what did you think about Pakistan's education system?
Me: Uh- *bells rungs to end interview*
"You run a tertiary government hospital which is supposed to provide free medication. However, you have a shortage and patients have to end up paying themselves. What would you do?
Me: I'd file a report to the government.
Her: ...
Me: And maybe start a trust or an NGO to get funds for these people.
Her: ...
Me: ...
Her: ...
Me: ....
Her: ...
Me: *sniffs*
Her: You have a cold?
Me: Yeah, it's just mild. It started on the weekend.
Her: Are you taking medicine?
Me: No, just hot milk in the morning.
Her: ...
Me: ....
*bell rings*
"You were exiting a car parking when you hit the car next to you and break something. The security guard sees and informs you that it is Doctor Y's car and he has been told of this incident. Call Doctor Y and tell him what happened"
Me: Hi, my name is Kanra and I accidentally hit your car in the parking lot.
Him: Yeah, the security guard told me, I asked him to get a hold of you. Did you come by yourself or did he send you?
Me: .... I came myself.
Him: Good, so you came by yourself?
Me: Yeah, I felt it would be better to deal with this problem face to face.
Him: Okay, so do you have a license?
Me: No...
Him: Then why were you driving?
Me: Wait, are we talking about real life or the scenario?
Him: ... the scenario.
Me: Oh! Then I'd have a license!
Him: ... Okay so if you have a license, you must be a careless driver to have hit my car.
Me: It was an accident and besides, my ability to park and unpark a car doesn't really affect how I drive on the streets.
Him: Fair enough. So who's going to pay for the damage?
Me: I'll pay it.
Him: Are you going to pay it or get your parents to pay it?
Me: It was my mistake so I should pay for it.
Him: Okay, that'll be all.
"You are a drug addict and you really want to get admission into a college. The college is conducting screening tests. What would you do?"
Me: I'd sign up for a rehabilitation program.
Her: But you don't have enough time to get the drug out of your system. What would you do then?
Me: I'd tell the college about my problem and ask them to make concessions for me. I'll tell them I'll join a rehabilitation program and kick off this habit.
Her: Would you think about switching your urine sample with someone else's?
Me: No way! That wouldn't be fair. I would go straight up to the administration.
Her: Okay. Do you think drug addicts should be doctors?
Me: Well, if they kick off the habit, then I think they should definitely become doctors so they can help other people kick it off.
Her: Oh you're taking it in a positive light. Good good.
Me: *psychology classes paid off! whoop whoop!!*
Her: Okay so what do you think about someone taking drugs in your class?
Me: I'd be okay with that person being in my class and I probably wouldn't have anything against them personally, but I'd like to stay away from that person.
Her: Why?
Me: I don't want them turning me into an addict.
Her: How do you think most people turn into addicts?
Me: I imagine someone randomly hands it to them and says "Hey check this!" and they taste it and get addicted.
Her: So is it their fault their addicted?
Me: No, it's not their fault if their addicted but they have the power to kick it off. If they stay addicted, it's definitely their fault.
Her: What would you do if one of your friends starts taking drugs?
Me: I'd talk to her and then call her parents and say "Do you know that your daughter takes drugs?"
Her: What about smokers?
Me: I don't have a problem with smokers as long as they're not smoking in front of me. They can go outside and so it or whatever, but not infront of me. They should respect my feelings about smoking the way I respected theirs.
Her: So why are you lenient towards smoking than towards drugs?
Me: Well, I think drugs are more dangerous, you'd literally watch a human being degrade into an animal. I think that's scary and as a friend, I should stop that from happening.
*bell rings*
"Here is a table of a survey conducted by an ice cream company who wants to launch a new flavor. Look at the data and explain which flavor they should launch"
This one would be really hard to explain because there was a table of data and I kept referring back to it but the main point I focused on was restricted samples and how you CANNOT survey ice cream flavors from adults when it's actually the children who consume it and to put flavors that people like up front, not random flavors the ice cream company likes.
"Why do you want to be a doctor?"
I can't remember this one really well, but just this snippet.
Him: 70% of females sit at home after getting a degree.
Me: I will be that 30%
And that is how my interview ended xD My percentage was 68%/87.5% and my final percentage is 79%. That means that out of 12.5, I scored an 11 in my interview. Not bad, don't you think? ;)
