Griffiths guide

Med-School
Interviews

2011
edition
How to prepare
The questions
they ask & the
answers to give
How to deal with
case studies
Contents
Why you need this book 5

How to use this book 5

Four things to do before your interview 6

Insider dealing 9

Dress for success 9

The waiting game 11

The initial rapport technique 11

The handshake 12

The long walk 12

Dirty tricks 13

Body language 14

4 types of interview questions 16

Top 10 questions 17

Top 5 interview mistakes 24

Relaxation techniques 27

The repeating the question technique 29

The putting it in context ploy 29

66 typical questions 30

Answering ethical case studies 54

Questions you should ask 64

Finishing 65

What if the interview was unfair? 65

Full list of 153 questions 66

Help me help you 76

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"To be a great champion, you must believe
that you are the best. If you're not, pretend
you are."

- Muhammad Ali

3
A word on copyright
I have decided to make this book available in Adobe pdf format as I believe it
is the most useful format for candidates. Nearly everyone has access to
Adobe reader on their computer so the work is easily accessible. Also
students can use Adobe tools to copy and paste passages they find
particularly useful or print out passages or pages.

However I am also aware that this format makes it very easy for this work to
be copied and/or distributed to other people. I have faith in my future fellow
medical colleagues that my copyright will not be abused in this way and I
remind you that if you help another candidate by providing them with this text
you may be depriving yourself of your own place at medical school. You have
paid for this, let others pay aswell if they take the interview as seriously as you
do.

Finally, please be aware that not only is breach of copyright actionable in the
civil courts but under the Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 it is also a
criminal offence punishable by fine and/or imprisonment. I will seek the
maximum remedies available if I become aware of anyone copying and/or
distributing this work in part or in whole without my permission.

The entire contents of this book are Copyright, © Peter Griffiths 2006
and 2010.

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Why you need this book
At some stage you may have been given the interview advice “Just be
yourself” or “The interviewers just want to get to know you as a person”.

Unfortunately unless you are already very well prepared indeed for your
medical school interview, this advice is likely to lead you to interview failure.

What exactly does “be yourself” mean? Does it mean you should talk to the
interviewers as you talk to your friends in the pub? No, of course not. The fact
of the matter is that we all project different personas or aspects of our
personality in different situations.

This does not mean we are being false or “not being ourselves”, it is just a
part of normal human and social interaction.

The aim of this book is not to persuade you to be somebody you are not. Its
purpose is to help you realise your full potential and show you how you can
project your best possible characteristics in the interview.

And that is exactly what the interviewers want to see, your best possible
characteristics, for no interviewer is hoping that a candidate will do badly
when they walk through the door.

Remember there is intense competition for medical school places and you
can be sure that a lot of the candidates you are competing against will be
taking the interview very seriously. They will be making a lot of effort
researching and rehearsing their answers.

If you want to maximise your own chances of success, then you will have to
do the same. This book is an aid to help you do that. By having all the
information you need in one place, this book will save you a lot of time.
However you will still need to put the effort in to prepare yourself.

Good luck!

How to use this book

This book provides a lot of the typical questions you will be asked in your
medical school interview. Suggested answers are provided to many of them.

The purpose of the suggested answers is NOT for you to learn them and
repeat parrot fashion in your interview!

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The purpose of the suggested answers is to show you the style of a good
answer and to make you aware of important issues or areas which the med
schools may be looking for in your answers.

By all means use the answers given in this book as the basis for your own
answers if you feel they are appropriate to you. However, adapt them to your
own specific circumstances and above all put them in your own words.

If you try to use language or words in your answers which you do not normally
use then you will just end up sounding contrived and rehearsed. Practice your
answers so that you feel comfortable saying them in your own style.

Nevertheless, having said the above, there is also a lot of useful factual
information in this book. For example, the qualities of a good doctor as given
by the GMC, information about PBL, historical achievements in medicine,
ethical issues etc. etc.

This information is provided for your convenience so feel free to memorise it

exactly as it appears here and use it in your answers.

Four things to do before your interview.

1. Research the med school

Find out all you can about the med school where you have been offered the
interview. There are two reasons to do this. Firstly because you may be asked
questions such as “Why did you apply to this school?” or “What interests you
about the course here?” and you will look decidedly silly if you don’t have an
answer.

Secondly, at the end of the interview you may be asked if you have any
questions to ask the interviewers. You really don’t want to ask a question to
which the answer is easily found on the university website. This will just make
you look lazy and like you really didn’t have much interest in that med school
in the first place.

Try to access as many different sources of information about the med school
as you can. Look at their website, look at the hard copy of their prospectus
(which often contains different information to that found on the website). Re-
read carefully any letters or information they have sent you during the
application process as these may also contain useful information.

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2. Research the interview
You are trying to discover two things, firstly, what is the format of the
interview? Will you be interviewed by a single person or a panel? Will the
interview be very formal and have you sitting in a chair in front of a row of
interviewers behind desks or will it be a more informal arrangement around a
coffee table? Will there be any kind of case study you will have to
prepare/comment on?

You will probably have been told all this by the med school at the time they
offered you your interview, but if not try and find out. Don’t be afraid to ring the
med school directly to find out if necessary, they are usually quite helpful.

Secondly, can you find any clues as to the kinds of questions you may be
asked? It is very unlikely that you will find exact questions but many med
schools are surprisingly forthcoming on their web sites etc. about the general
topics or areas that questions may cover. If you apply to St. George’s
University of London for example it should come as no surprise to you in the
interview if you are asked questions about the importance of research since
this is emphasised on the St. George’s web site.

3. Research yourself
One of the most frequent mistakes that candidates in interviews make is not
being able to talk sufficiently convincingly about themselves. Scrutinise your
personal statement that you made on your application form carefully. Be
prepared to elaborate on all aspects of it. For every personal achievement,
activity or hobby you have mentioned, be prepared to answer the following
questions:

ƒ Why did you do it?

ƒ What skills/qualities did it require?
ƒ What are the good and bad things about it?
ƒ What have you learnt from it?
ƒ Would you do anything differently with the benefit of hindsight?

4. Do mock interviews
If you are lucky enough to have been offered several interviews from different
med schools then you will probably find that your interview technique
improves from the first to the last. Practice makes perfect. However you
cannot afford to waste the first interview or two as “practice” interviews and
hope that your technique will be sufficiently developed for the third or fourth.
You need to have already done some practice interviews before your first
interview so you can hit the ground running.

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Your school or university will most likely have someone who can give you
mock interviews. If not try and get a friend or family member to do it for you.

Use the research you have done previously to try and model your mock
interviews on the same format as your real interviews i.e. if it is a panel
interview try and get more than one person in the mock interview to be asking
questions, or if there is a case study, try and include one in your mock
interview too.

You should be trying to achieve the following goals in your mock interviews:

ƒ Clarifying your answers in your own mind

You may look at a potential interview question and think you know the
answer, maybe it’s so obvious you don’t even need to think about how you will
word your reply. Wrong!! There is a big difference between having an answer
in your head and saying it out loud.

You may need to practice several times before you can get the phrasing just
right and sound fluid and natural without fumbling for words or saying
“errmm”. You wouldn’t try to give a speech without practising it out loud at
least once would you? Well interview answers are just the same, you need to
say them out loud to really see how your answers sound.

ƒ Practising your body language

If you can, videotape your interview, not only will you hear exactly how you
sound afterwards but you will be able to see how you look aswell. What kind
of expression do you have on your face? Do you look confident or just
terrified? Are you sitting upright or slouching etc?

If you don’t have access to a video recorder then get your mock “interviewer”
to take notes on your body language aswell as your answers.

ƒ Overcoming your nerves

You won’t feel as nervous in a mock interview as you will in the real thing, but
I guarantee that when you get to the real thing the mere fact that you have
done some mock interviews will make you feel less nervous.

Not only will you know what to expect but as you will have practised your
answers several times already you will be feeling much more confident.

Remember that nervousness is one of the main reasons candidates do badly

at interview. Nerves freeze up your mind and prevent you from thinking

8
quickly or getting your words out properly. So anything you can do to feel less
nervous is important.

After each mock interview make sure you get constructive criticism from the
person interviewing you and use their comments to refine your answers and
then practice them again.

Insider dealing
It may be illegal in the world of finance, but when it comes to interviews
there’s no reason not to get any advantage you can. If possible speak to
students who are already studying at the med schools where you have
interviews.

In many cases their tutors and lecturers may be the people who will be
interviewing you. They will probably have a much better understanding of the
ethos and culture of each individual med school and what are the particular
issues you are likely to be asked about at interview. They may also be able to
give you tips from their own interview experience

If you don’t know any current students perhaps your school or university can
put you in touch with past pupils who are now studying at the medical schools
you have applied to. Ask your careers adviser or alumni office for help.

Dress for success

When I went for some of my medical school interviews I was shocked by what
some of the other candidates felt was appropriate dress for an interview. Men
wearing jumpers instead of suits and women wearing frumpy dresses that
looked like something they would go to the supermarket in.

Now maybe you think that people shouldn’t be judged on their appearance.
Maybe you think that in your interview you should be judged on what you say
rather than what you wear. Maybe I even agree with you. But the fact of the
matter is no-one cares what we think. The reality of the situation is that
appearance counts.

Research has shown conclusively that in job interviews, physical appearance

is one of the main determining factors (if not the determining factor) as to who
will be the successful candidate. And furthermore interviewers reach their
opinions about candidates within the first minute of meeting them.

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Now medical school interviews are probably more structured than a typical job
interview, so the situation MAY not be exactly the same. Nevertheless the
interviewer is likely to form a very quick initial impression of you based almost
entirely on your appearance and this may influence them either consciously or
unconsciously in terms of how they score your answers.

You only get one chance to make a good first impression, so DON’T take any
chances. Think conservative in your dress, and always remember that too
formal is better than too casual. Anything trendy or “the latest style” is
probably not appropriate. If in doubt, leave it out of your interview wardrobe.

The following tips will stand you in good stead:

For men
ƒ A two piece business suit in dark blue or dark grey
ƒ A long sleeved shirt in plain white or pale blue
ƒ A button up cuff on the shirt is fine. Cufflinks are not necessary and if you
do not normally wear them they are only likely to make you feel more self-
conscious.
ƒ A silk tie, either plain or with a conservative pattern. A light colour such as
pale yellow, pink or light blue can nicely offset the dark colour of the suit,
however avoid anything bright or garish and avoid red
ƒ Black socks
ƒ Black lace up shoes (no brown shoes)
ƒ No more than one ring on each hand
ƒ Neat, well trimmed hair
ƒ Clean trimmed fingernails
ƒ Minimal after-shave
ƒ Avoid putting bulky items into pockets, which make them bulge, or too
many coins which can jingle.
ƒ No beards or moustaches (sorry if you have them but they are
undoubtedly a negative in interviews especially with female interviewers)
ƒ Definitely no earrings or piercings

For women
ƒ A dark colour suit with a jacket and skirt or trousers, no dresses. I do not
recommend black suits for men since it can make them look like they are
going to a funeral, however the extra gravitas that black imparts can suit
women and make them seem more businesslike.
ƒ A conservative white or pastel blouse
ƒ Shoes with conservative heels
ƒ Neat well styled hair
ƒ Discrete make-up
ƒ Clear or pale nail varnish, no bright colours

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ƒ No more than two rings per hand
ƒ One pair of earrings only
ƒ No piercings
ƒ Minimal perfume
ƒ A briefcase or portfolio case is preferable to carrying a purse or handbag

Finally bear in mind that many people, particularly of the older generation, pay
particular attention to a persons shoes. It is a common belief that someone
who doesn’t pay attention to their shoes doesn’t pay attention to details. So
ensure that your shoes are clean and well polished.

The waiting game

It goes without saying that you should arrive for your interview with plenty of
time to spare. Make use of this spare time to visit the toilet and comb your hair
if necessary and then enter the waiting area and make yourself known to the
secretary/administrator.

Assess the layout of the waiting area and try to sit in a chair where you can
see the interviewers entering the room and make eye contact easily. Sit down,
relax and compose your thoughts.

In my experience, if there are any other candidates waiting they will rarely try
and talk to you. If anyone does attempt to engage you in conversation reply
with one-word answers and hopefully they will get the message and leave you
alone. Now is not the time to become distracted.

Take out your personal statement and any interview notes you have prepared
for a final review. Mentally rehearse your answers to standard questions and
visualise yourself smiling and confident in the interview.

If necessary practice any relaxation techniques you have to get rid of any pre
interview jitters (some simple techniques will be explained later).

Don’t drink coffee before the interview as the caffeine will just make you more
nervous but bring some bottled water to sip so your mouth doesn’t get dry.

The initial rapport technique

As mentioned above you should try and choose a seat from where you can
easily see and make eye contact with anyone who enters the room. Stay alert

11
and whenever someone enters look up, make eye contact and give a warm
smile.

You may end up smiling at a few people who are not your interviewer, but
sooner or later it will be your interviewer who enters and their first impression
of you will be of an alert, open and friendly person. This will greatly help you
to establish a good initial rapport with your interviewer.

The handshake
Eventually your name will be called and the interviewer will approach you. As
before smile warmly and rise calmly to your feet (don’t jump up like a startled
rabbit). After identifying yourself the interviewer will probably extend his hand
to shake yours. If not do not be afraid to initiate the handshake yourself.

If you tend to have cold hands try sitting on your right hand for a few minutes
while waiting to warm it up so you are not shaking hands with a cold clammy
hand.

If you are nervous and think your palm is sweating a bit, discretely wipe it on
your trousers or the chair before the interviewer approaches you. There is
nothing worse than shaking a damp hand. (Tip: If you sweat a lot try rubbing
some talcum powder into your hand before leaving for the interview.)

Let the strength of your grip be guided by the interviewer. If he/she has a
strong grip, then return the same grip and shake hands firmly. If they have a
weaker grip then adjust your grip to the same strength as them.

The long walk

After the introductions you will then be guided towards the interview room.
This may be only next door or it may be some distance away. If it seems that
you have a little walk to get to the room do not simply follow the interviewer in
silence. Now is the perfect opportunity to continue building your initial rapport.

If your interviewer is pleasant they may save you the effort here by making
small talk such as asking you if you had a good journey. If not you will have to
do some work yourself.

Take the opportunity to ask a neutral conversational question. You will need
to think a little while you are waiting about what you will ask here.

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For example if the university building seems very old or have interesting
architecture you could make a comment along the lines of “This is quite a
historical building isn’t it, do you know when it was built?”

Or if you have seen some interesting news about the university on their web
site you could ask about that, e.g. “I see that your medical school came in the
top three of the Guardian survey of medical schools recently, you must all be
very pleased”

Don’t worry if you feel your question or comment is boring or inane. Its only
purpose here is to emphasise to the interviewer that you are a normal person
capable of normal social interactions and to set up a friendly atmosphere
before you get into the interview room.

On entering the interview room you may find another two or three people
waiting for you if it is a panel interview.

On entering smile warmly again and briefly look round and quickly make eye
contact with everyone. Then say hello to the other interviewers individually
and shake hands with each.

Dirty tricks
You should be aware that if you are unlucky, some interviewers may use
some dirty tricks just to see how you will respond when under stress.

A common technique is to immediately pose an odd or unnecessarily

aggressive question. For example in one interview I had, as soon as I had sat
down, one of the interviewers virtually shouted at me “So, are you from
Timbuctoo?” I stayed calm and said “Sorry, I’m not sure what you mean
exactly?” he then smiled and said, “I was just asking if you had to come far to
get here?”

Another technique is to keep asking “Anything else?” after you have answered
a question. Sometimes this may be of use to you as it provides you with
further opportunities to develop your answer or demonstrate further
knowledge.

However if you feel you have fully answered a question and genuinely cannot
add anything further do not be afraid to say, “No I think I’ve answered the
question as fully as I can”. Avoid the temptation to ask if you have missed
anything important out or say weakly “I can’t think of anything else” as this will
just make you appear unsure of yourself.

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Body language
Everyone nowadays is aware of the importance of body language. Your non-
verbal communication will say far more about you than the words which come
out of your mouth and play a huge role in the impression that the interviewers
form about you.

It is vital therefore that you are aware of how you look, your posture, your
facial expression and your hand and body movements and gestures.

Unfortunately, because of the widespread knowledge of body language

nowadays, many people believe themselves to be experts and that they can
tell all about you on the basis of some minor twitch. Did you touch your nose
while you were talking? Then you must have been lying (not that you just had
an itch). Did you at any point cross your arms? Then of course you are
defensive and untrusting (not just feeling a bit cold).

To avoid falling into someone else’s stereotype just be aware of the common
body signals which can be perceived as indicative of negative traits and try to
consciously emphasise those that are associated with positive traits.

Here are some important areas to be aware of –

Eye contact
When someone is nervous it can often be difficult for them to maintain good
eye contact with the person they are talking to. And probably during the
interview you will be a little nervous so be aware this is a problem you may
have.

If someone doesn’t make eye contact while speaking it can make the listener
feel uncomfortable too and inhibit a natural and relaxed flow of conversation.

Also not making eye contact, or continually looking up or down can also be
perceived as signals that you are not telling the truth or are untrustworthy.

Therefore make a conscious effort to maintain steady and confident eye

contact with the interviewer (but don’t stare fixedly like a psychopath) both
when you are speaking and when they are speaking to you. If you have more
than one interviewer, during your answers remember to turn your head and
make eye contact with all of them, not just the person who asked you the
question. You are talking to everyone and need to engage and maintain the
interest of the whole group.

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Facial expression
Again, you may be nervous, but try not to keep a nervous or worried
expression on your face throughout the entire interview. Keep your face
relaxed with a slight smile.

Slightly frowning now and again while listening to questions is good as it

shows interest and thoughtfulness (but remember to stop frowning after a few
seconds). Similarly, slightly nodding your head at the appropriate place while
the interviewer speaks can indicate understanding and reinforces the two-way
nature of the communication in a non-verbal fashion.

Posture
Your posture should reinforce your verbal and facial signals. In other words it
should also be sending the message of relaxed confidence. Sit upright in your
chair with your hands resting flat on your thighs or lightly clasped in front of
you.

Do NOT tightly grip your hands, wring them, rub them together or generally
fiddle with your fingers or rings.

Men should unbutton their jacket when sitting down.

Women should neatly cross their legs. Men shouldn’t cross their legs. If men
cross their legs vertically like a woman it can make them appear feminine,
while if they cross them with one leg horizontal this can appear too casual for
an interview situation.

Leaning forward slightly now again is a good way to signal interest in what the
interviewer is saying but don’t rock backwards and forwards as though in a
rocking chair.

Hand and arm gestures

As mentioned above your hands should rest lightly on your lap or the table if
you are behind a desk. Avoid crossing your arms.

Hand and arm gestures should be kept to a minimum especially if you do not
normally use them. This is not the time to practice amateur dramatics to make
what you are saying seem more important or interesting.

Some people seem to have a range of mini hand gestures where they jerk
their hand to emphasise what they are saying but the hand never leaves their
lap or the table. This should also be avoided.

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4 types of interview questions
Here I set out 4 common styles or types of questions which may appear in a
medical school interview.

If you are aware of the category your question belongs in when you are asked
it, it should help to guide you as to the best type of answer to give.

Factual questions
This type of question simply confirms facts, e.g. what subjects did you study
at A level? What did you do in your last job?

Opinion questions
These types of questions ask you to give your opinion on a particular subject;
e.g. what are your strengths and weaknesses? What do you think are the
qualities of a good doctor?

While asking for your opinions these questions usually do have a right or
wrong answer. For example the question above regarding the qualities of a
good doctor which definitely has some keywords which you should mention.

These questions are perhaps the easiest type of question to answer since to a
large extent many of them can be predicted before the interview and you
should immediately be able to give your pre-prepared response.

Ethical cases questions

These questions will pose an ethical dilemma e.g. you have one liver
available for transplant, but two patients with equal medical need. One is an
ex-alcoholic mother with two young children, the other a 13 year old with an
inborn liver abnormality. How would you decide to whom it should be given?

These kinds of questions are not usually interested in your opinion and there
isn’t usually a right or wrong answer. They are looking for an understanding
and awareness of the issues involved and how to apply them to the particular
case.

We will be looking at answers to ethical cases later on.

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Example based questions
Also called behavioural questions. These questions want you to provide
evidence of your answers or achievements with specific examples of what you
have done in the past.

In this way the interviewer hopes to separate those who merely say they are
goal orientated (for example) but cannot give any past example of when they
have achieved a goal, from those who can provide concrete examples of
goals they have achieved and how they achieved them.

Examples of these types of questions are “describe a time in school when you
had many projects or assignments due at the same time. What steps did you
take to get them all done?”

Or

“Describe a situation where you found yourself dealing with someone who
didn't like you. How did you handle it?”

As you prepare for your interviews and as you work through the questions in
this book you should constantly be asking yourself “is this an example
question?” “Could I be asked to back this up with a specific example?”

It may seem impossible to have examples prepared for the hundreds of

different types of questions you could be asked, however you will soon see
that most questions are variations around common themes. You will realise
that you only need a few examples which you will be able to adapt to most
situations.

Top 10 questions
- as reported by candidates from actual interviews.

Here are some of the most frequently asked questions. Study them well,
chances are, one or more of them will come up in your interview.

Why do you want to be a doctor?

Obviously you have your reasons, otherwise you wouldn’t have applied to do
medicine. Articulating those reasons in a sensible way however is another
thing entirely.

Here are some things you should not say –

17
“To help people” – this answer will just lead to you being asked “Why not
another job where you can help people such as nursing?”

“Because I’m interested in science” – as above will lead to you being asked,
“Why not do a science degree?”

It is much better to focus on your own particular skills and attributes and relate
them to a career in medicine. You can then combine things such as “wanting
to work in a caring profession” within this answer to build an overall picture
that points towards being a doctor.

For example –

“When choosing a career I thought about the things I enjoy and my particular
skills. I enjoy working with people and I believe I have good communication
skills, the ability to work in a team and the necessary commitment for
medicine. My work experience in a local hospital showed me that I would
enjoy working in a caring profession and medicine would allow me to do this
while at the same time provide sufficient scope for intellectual and
professional development.”

This answer shows that you have thought about the skills needed by a doctor,
have thought about whether you possess those skills and have also taken
positive steps in the form of undertaking work experience to confirm your
choice.

What attributes are necessary in a good doctor?

Have you thought about what qualities are needed in a doctor? Do you have
those qualities? Be prepared for follow up questions asking you for examples
of the last time you demonstrated those qualities.

The British Medical Association lists the following core attributes of a good
doctor –

ƒ Competence
ƒ Integrity
ƒ Confidentiality
ƒ Caring
ƒ Compassion
ƒ Commitment
ƒ Responsibility
ƒ Advocacy
ƒ Spirit of enquiry

Of these “competence” is the most important since an incompetent doctor

could harm his patients.

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To the above list could be added good communication skills, ability to work in
a team, ability to deal with stress etc.

What do you think you will be the positive aspects and

the negative aspects of being a doctor?
This question tests your understanding of the realities of working as a doctor,
both the good and bad aspects. Although the interviewers will probably be
more interested in your grasp of the negative aspects to weed out candidates
with an overly romantic view of medicine and who may believe they will spend
their time sitting around discussing interesting medical cases with a Hugh
Laurie look-alike with a limp.

Positive aspects:

ƒ Opportunity to serve the public / satisfaction from helping people

ƒ Challenge
ƒ Responsibility
ƒ Interesting
ƒ Dynamic – constant developments in medical knowledge
ƒ Varied types of work / flexibility in future career paths

Negative aspects:

ƒ Long training
ƒ Uncertainty in work i.e. not knowing if diagnosis/treatment is correct or will
have desired outcome.
ƒ Constant learning and need to keep professional knowledge up to date
ƒ Long hours
ƒ Difficult working conditions – e.g. lack of resources
ƒ Political interference in work – e.g. constant changes to NHS, targets etc.
ƒ Increasing levels of litigation
ƒ Difficult / abusive patients

Why X university?
For this question you need to do some research for yourself regarding the
medical schools you have applied to. Of course, you did this at the time of
making your applications right?

As previously mentioned, the university web site, prospectus, and any other
letters or information they have sent you are all good sources of information.

Try to avoid giving simplistic answers which could get you into trouble –

You: “I chose this university because it has a good reputation.”

19
Interviewer: “Which medical schools do think don’t have good reputations?”

You: “I chose this university because it has a PBL based course.”

Interviewer: “Why not X, Y or Z universities which also have PBL courses?”

Or worse, because you didn’t do your homework –

Interviewer: “Actually we run a traditional course here.”

Just like your answer to the question “Why do you want to be a doctor” it is
better to give an integrated answer which shows you have considered various
factors.

Also do not be afraid to include as one of your reasons the fact that a
particular university is close to home and may be cheaper for you to attend
than another one. Medical school is a big financial commitment and the fact
that you have thought about this will surely not count against you.

A suggested answer –

“I prefer a traditional / PBL based course (delete as appropriate) because it

fits better with my personal learning style. Having attended the open day here
I decided I liked both the course and the atmosphere of this university and
would feel comfortable studying here. Also studying here means I’m closer to
home which helps me out financially.”

Of course, be prepared to justify exactly why you prefer traditional or PBL

based courses or what exactly you like about the atmosphere of the university
e.g. friendly people, plenty of extra curricular interests (not trivial since you will
spend 4/5 years there and need some way of de-stressing) etc.

Also be aware that the interviewers may have your application form available
to them. If you have applied to several universities, some of which have PBL
courses and others traditional courses be prepared to explain this e.g.

“While I’d prefer to do a PBL/traditional course that is not the only factor in my
choice hence I have taken other factors into account in my choice to apply to
Y university.”

Tell us about any medical articles you have seen in

the media recently.
This a frequent question and “recent” should mean no more than a month old,
otherwise you’ll look like you hardly ever read medical articles.

If you are not already doing so make it a habit to seek out medical articles,
especially as you get closer to the interview date. This doesn’t necessarily
mean you have to order The Lancet every month, but at least read the

20
science pages of a quality newspaper. Any important medical stories will
certainly be featured there.

Before your interview, pick one which you think you can talk about
comfortably and give your opinion on. Try to anticipate if there are any follow
up questions they could ask you.

What do you consider to be important advances in

medicine over the last 50 / 100 years?
This question is again testing the genuineness of your interest in medicine
and your understanding of important public health issues.

In any question regarding important advances in medicine or public health the

first thing you should always demonstrate awareness of is the fact that the
greatest number of lives have been saved not by great scientific
breakthroughs but by simple things such as the provision of clean drinking
water and improvements in nutrition.

Drinking water only began to be chlorinated in the 19th century leading in

particular to cases of typhoid dysentery and cholera plummeting.

The biochemist Casimir Funk introduced the term vitamine in 1912.

Researchers later identified vitamins needed by the body to prevent
deficiency diseases such as beriberi, rickets, scurvy, and pellagra. As nutrition
has improved these diseases have virtually disappeared from developed
countries.

Other important advances in medicine have been –

ƒ In 1796 British physician Edward Jenner introduced vaccination to prevent

smallpox

ƒ French physician René-Théophile-Hyacinthe Laënnec invented the

stethoscope in 1819

ƒ In 1842 Crawford Long in the United States discovered the anaesthetic

effects of ether. The use of anaesthetics enabled surgeons to perform
longer operations and reduced surgical mortality.

ƒ Louis Pasteur developed the Germ Theory of Disease in the 1860s, which
was the first recognition that microorganisms cause disease in humans.

ƒ Joseph Lister, influenced by the Germ Theory of Disease began using

carbolic acid as the first antiseptic in the late 1860s. At that time post-
operative sepsis infection accounted for the death of almost half of the
patients undergoing major surgery.

21
ƒ German and French scientists in the1930s showed that sulphonamide was
effective in treating streptococcal bacteria infections. This discovery led to
the development of antibiotics.

ƒ In 1953 Francis Crick and James Watson identified the double-helix

structure of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) which allowed us to understand
how DNA carries genetic information and its role in genetic diseases.

ƒ In 2003 scientists completed the sequence of the human genome.

Any idea what field within medicine you want to do?

The best answer to this question is not to commit yourself to any particular
speciality for two reasons –

1. It could make it appear that you don’t have a genuine interest in medicine,
just a small area. Since you will spend your whole time at med school
studying general medicine rather than any speciality, and likewise in the
early part of your working career this doesn’t make you an ideal candidate
for the course.

2. It could make you appear as though you have an unrealistic attitude to

your future career. Until you have actually had some experience of what is
involved in different areas of medicine it is very difficult to make an
informed choice between them. If you appear to have committed yourself
too firmly without having had any actual experience first you will appear
naïve.

It is much better to give a non-committal answer such as –

“No, I don’t want to close any doors at this early stage. I think it’s better to wait
and get experience of different areas of medicine to get a realistic idea of
what’s involved and see which areas I enjoy the most, then I can make an
informed decision.”

What causes you stress? How do you deal with

stress?
Working as a doctor can undoubtedly be stressful. Whether it is more stressful
than any number of other professional careers is debatable, however your
interviewers are certainly not interested in that debate.

They want to see that you are a person who recognises that they suffer from
stress at times and have strategies to cope with your stress. Do not say you
don’t suffer from stress or that you thrive on stress or you will immediately fail
this question.

22
For what causes you stress talk about the usual subjects such as exams,
having to meet work deadlines etc. Now is not the moment to mention any
strange personal foibles, stick to non-controversial things.

For dealing with stress you should talk about how you make an effort to
regularly play sports, have other interests to take your mind off problems,
have a good network of friends to discuss problems with, etc etc.

How has your work experience affected you?

Many med schools place great emphasis on applicants gaining relevant work
experience in a health care setting. Even if your chosen med schools do not
specifically mention it as a requirement in their prospectuses it can only help
your application to have some work experience in this field.

Most applicants gain such experience by working as volunteers in local

hospitals or nursing homes. Many hospitals will also allow you to “shadow” a
consultant for a week to gain an insight into their work. This can usually be
arranged by contacting the voluntary services department.

A common mistake when answering questions about work experience is to

talk in purely observational terms, and focusing exclusively on the doctors e.g.

“… I saw the doctors do this and I saw them do that. They were very caring
and helpful etc etc…”

Unfortunately this type of answer does not demonstrate that you have learned
much on a personal level from your experience about your own suitability for a
career in medicine.

Here is a suggested answer which demonstrates the candidate is aware of

how her experience has positively affected her –

“Well, first of all I learnt that I didn’t mind being around sick people all day and
that I could actually work in that sort of environment. I think I got a realistic
idea of a doctor’s day to day work but also an appreciation of the extent to
which doctors work in health teams. The work of the nurses and other hospital
staff was just as important to the patients as that of the doctors and I got a
good idea of how important it is for all members of the team to communicate
and work together effectively.”

“I think I also gained an understanding of issues which can affect patients

during their stay in hospital. Many of them feel frustrated by their lack of
control over their environment, for example they cannot decide when they get
up, what time they have their meals etc. many may also feel lonely or isolated
being separated from their families as well as going through the stress and
uncertainty of suffering from an illness.”

23
If you were in a team of doctors and a colleague was
not doing the job well what would you do?
This questions is testing your ability to deal with problems arising within a
team as well as your willingness to put the patients interests first even if this
means informing on a colleague.

Suggested answer –

“I would try and discuss the problem with the colleague first of all to discover if
there was any way to resolve the problem. Perhaps the person concerned
needs further training or doesn’t fully understand the job requirements. If the
problem continued then I would have to discuss the matter with a more senior
member of the team.”

Top 5 interview mistakes

Failing to create a dialogue

When you go to an interview you expect to be asked questions. But don’t
forget, this is not an interrogation where you must just passively answer the
questions put to you. You should think of the interview as an exchange
between equals.

This means creating a dialogue between yourself and the interviewers. Ask
questions of them if necessary to clarify questions and seek further
information about what they are really asking you about. This will help create
a more relaxed atmosphere more akin to a real conversation, which in turn will
help you to relax and improve your performance.

To be honest
If you are one of those people who tends to use phrases such as “To be
honest…” or “To tell you the truth….” Before answering questions then I
suggest that you eliminate them from your vocabulary along with any other
verbal tics or repetitive phrases you habitually use.

Not only is it annoying for an interviewer to hear the same phrase preceding
every answer but even if only used once in your interview the phrase “To be
honest….” can create a bad impression.

24
Why do you need to say that? Does it mean your other answers haven’t been
honest? In short it can make you look shifty, so avoid it.

There are plenty of other phrases which are OK if used once or twice but can
become annoying if they precede every answer e.g. “Well…” “Errrm” etc.

Tell us about yourself

This is a typical question which at first sight seems quite easy to answer. After
all, it doesn’t require any difficult technical or scientific knowledge. It only
requires you to talk about yourself, what could be easier than that?

Unfortunately, in practice this question is surprisingly badly answered by

many candidates. The main reason for this mistake is that candidates have
failed to think beforehand about their key attributes which they want the
interviewers to know about.

Let’s see a really poor answer given by an anonymous candidate –

Interviewer – “Tell us about yourself.”

Anonymous candidate - “I like cats.”

Now let’s look at a typical answer given by a poor candidate, we’ll call her
Lucy –

Interviewer – “Tell us about yourself.”

Lucy – “Well, I’m 20 years old, I studied chemistry, physics and biology for my
A levels, which I really enjoyed and then after school I decided I’d had enough
of studying for a while so I took a gap year and decided to travel around
Australia which was fantastic……..”

Oh dear, I think we can all see what’s wrong with Lucy’s answer. She began
by telling the interviewers what she studied for her A levels which they could
have just read from her application form anyway, she then went on to tell
them about her gap year in purely personal terms without relating the
experience in any way to her future career or personal development.
Now let’s see a better answer from Sue –

“I’m quite an organised person, while I was doing my A levels I also did some
voluntary work in a local hospital so I had to learn to timetable my studies
effectively around my voluntary work and other hobbies. I feel I managed this
quite well because my A level results were very good.

I also think I’ve been able to develop quite good communication skills, I’ve just
come back from my gap year in Australia. I travelled all round the country and
had to talk to lots of different people from different backgrounds and cultures.

25
Finally I like to think that I’m a caring person which is part of the reason I want
to become a doctor.”
As you can see, Sue’s answer is undoubtedly more effective. You should
think about your own unique selling points and experience which might be
relevant to medicine and have a pre-prepared answer similar to Sue’s which
will allow you to really sell yourself to the interviewers if you are asked this or
a similar question.

What’s your greatest weakness?

This question has become such a hackneyed interview question that you may
have difficulty suppressing a smile at the interviewers lack of imagination if it
crops up in your interview.

The standard response to this question is to give a characteristic which can

also be a strength e.g.

“I pay a lot of attention to small details which means I sometimes miss the
bigger picture.”

Or

“I can be impatient with people who are not as committed as me.”

Unfortunately these sorts of answers have become as hackneyed as the

question itself and it is a mistake to use any response along these lines.

The interviewers will hear this sort of answer over and over again and you will
appear unoriginal and rehearsed.

As a first response to this sort of question I suggest an answer like this –

“I don’t think I’m perfect but I don’t think I have any major flaws that would
hinder my ability to work as a doctor. However I know there’s always room for
improvement so I’m open to constructive criticism.”

If you are pressed further, mention a genuine weakness but show that you are
aware of it and have attempted to do something about it. Stay away from
personal character traits (e.g. I lose my temper easily) and only mention
professional/work characteristics as your weakness. Also do NOT mention
any of the characteristics of a good doctor which I gave earlier, make sure you
know these and don’t mention ANY of them as a weakness.

Here’s a suggested answer –

26
“I know my computer skills are a bit weak which is why I attended a computer
course last month to improve my word processing knowledge.”

Or
“I do get stressed when I have a lot of work to do but I do have coping
strategies for this, in particular I find exercise helps me relax and I always get
back to my work with renewed energy after a workout.”

Complaining
Complaining of any kind in an interview is a bad mistake. Yet it is a trap which
is all too easy to fall into.

When asked to explain, for example, poor performance in exams or why you
left a job it is all too easy to begin blaming teachers or tutors or to criticise a
previous boss.

Even if your criticisms are perfectly justified, in an interview situation these

answers will just make you appear like a whinger who doesn’t take
responsibility. And no one likes a whinger.

Stay positive about all your past experiences. If there have been genuine
problems acknowledge them briefly without blaming others, then move swiftly
on to how you have learnt from the experience.

Relaxation Techniques
Here’s a couple of techniques which you can use before your interview to
calm your nerves. Try them, they really work! In fact the second one can even
be used during the interview if you feel yourself starting to get too nervous.

The Calming Image Technique

Your body responds to its environment and a calm and soothing environment
causes the body to relax, heart rate to drop, breathing to become shallower
and slower and your mind to feel peaceful.

But it is not necessary to actually change your environment to experience

these effects. Experimentation has shown that the body can respond in the
same way just by imagining yourself in a calm environment or situation.

How does this work?

27
Close your eyes and imagine a setting were you feel particularly comfortable
and peaceful. You may imagine yourself lying in a field on a summers day
listening to the sounds of the birds, or you may imagine yourself on a sandy
beach, or maybe next to waterfall on a river listening to the relaxing patter of
the water on stones.

Now really imagine yourself there, how does your body feel? For example if
you are on a beach imagine how the warm sand feels beneath your back,
imagine the heat of the sun’s rays on your face, perhaps there is a cooling
breeze playing over your body. Now imagine in as much detail as possible
your surroundings, listen to the sound of the waves breaking on the beach,
look at the palm trees surrounding you, imagine every detail.

As you continue this process you will find yourself becoming more and more
relaxed.

The good thing about this technique is that it works better the more you use it.
This is because your body becomes trained to relax as you begin your
imagery and gradually responds faster and better to you beginning the
technique.

The Squeeze and Breathe Technique

This is a quick and simple physical technique to help you control any feelings
of physical nervousness such as shaking or breathlessness.

First, take a deep breath in through your nose and just as your lungs fill to
capacity begin to squeeze your stomach muscles hard, (but not too hard it
makes you want to expel your lunch). Now while squeezing your stomach
slowly breathe out through your nose.

Doing this a couple of times helps to relax the body and normalise your
breathing.

It can be done discretely, so you could even do it during the interview if you
began to feel too nervous.

In any case if you do feel so nervous in the interview that you begin to stutter
or don’t get your words out properly, don’t be afraid to stop in mid answer, do
the “squeeze and breathe” to regain your composure and then continue.

The interviewers will see you are nervous but will also see that you are able to
control it, which shouldn’t count against you.

28
The Repeating The Question Technique
There are two ways to use this technique –

1. If you didn’t hear the question properly or think you didn’t understand it
properly then rather than just asking the interviewer to repeat it try
paraphrasing the question in your own words. You can preface this with a
question such as

“So what you are asking is………?” Or

“Do you mean………”

This is always preferable to answering the question you think was asked
rather than the question actually asked. It may also prompt the interviewer
to word the question in a slightly different way and thus give you more
information on which to base your answer.

2. This technique can also be used to buy yourself a few seconds of time to
think of answer if you are asked a difficult question. If you repeat the
question smoothly immediately after being asked it, it won’t appear at all
like you are trying to buy time.

The Putting It In Context Ploy

Imagine you are asked a difficult question. You are not sure how to answer.

Your first response should be to use the “Repeating the Question Technique”
to paraphrase the question and buy a few extra seconds.

But then, you still cannot think of how to answer. Fortunately there is another
method you can use to gain a few more seconds to think of an answer. The
beauty of this technique is that even if you cannot think of a good answer
afterwards, the technique itself makes it seem that you appreciate why the
question was asked.

The technique involves putting the question you are asked into context before
answering it e.g.

“Yes I understand the importance of that in the context of…..”

Let’s see how it works with an example –

29
Interviewer – “Can you give me an example of the last time you used good
communication skills?”

You (trying the Repeating the Question Technique first) – “So do you mean
how I’ve used communication skills to achieve a satisfactory result in a
particular situation?”

Interviewer – “Yes, exactly.”

You (now falling back on the Putting It In Context Ploy) – “Yes, I can
appreciate the importance of communication skills in the context of working as
a doctor because it will be essential to communicate well with patients and
colleagues. (At this point you begin to think of an answer) I suppose the best
example I can give you is………..”

66 typical questions
With some suggested answers
66 of the most commonly asked questions as reported by candidates from
actual interviews organized by the following categories:

The medical school

The course
Motivation for medicine
Appreciation of the realities of medicine
Medical work experience
Other work experience (non health related)
Interest in medicine
Personal qualities & achievements
Personal interests
Experience & knowledge of teamwork
Communication skills
Self awareness & personal development
Knowledge of NHS
Population health
Gender & cultural awareness
Issues involved in research

30
The medical school
What interests you about the curriculum at [Medical School]?
When you read the [Medical School] prospectus, what appealed to you
or interested you in the course here?

This is very similar to the “Why do you want to come to this University?”
question we have seen in the top 10 questions section, however this question
focuses exclusively on the academic curriculum.

You will need to have done your research on the universities you have applied
to in order to be able to answer this question intelligently. As suggested
before check the university web-site and paper prospectus for information.

Some particular areas you could mention are –

ƒ PBL, integrated or traditional course

ƒ Opportunities for clinical placements on wards/in the community
ƒ Emphasis on self directed learning
ƒ Opportunities to do Special Study Modules
ƒ Taught by practising doctors and by clinical and scientific academics
ƒ Electives abroad
ƒ Opportunity to study an intercalated BSc

What do you think are the advantages and disadvantages of coming to

medical school?

Advantages –

ƒ First step in your professional career

ƒ Opportunity to study something you are genuinely interested in
ƒ Opportunity to meet & learn from practising medics
ƒ Opportunity to benefit from and contribute to university life by membership
of clubs and societies
ƒ Meeting new people and making new friends
ƒ Social life

Disadvantages

ƒ Hard work
ƒ Expense
ƒ May have to move house
ƒ Being away from friends and family

How will you contribute to [X] university?

“First of all by being a good student and upholding the high academic
standards for which the university is known. Secondly, I look forward to

31
contributing to university life and events such as raising money for charity
during Rag Week. Finally I think it is important to participate in university
societies and sports clubs, I’m a keen squash player and that is one club I’d
be very interested in joining.”

The course
What do you know about PBL? Why do you want to come to a PBL
medical school?

The aim of PBL (Problem Based Learning) is to provide a context for what is
being learned. It involves a practical clinical case being presented to the
students in the form of a patient presenting with a particular problem.

Working in small groups the students discuss amongst themselves what they
need to learn in order to understand and solve the problem and decide a
common set of learning objectives to be reported back on at the next session.

A tutor is usually present in the sessions but he does not teach or tell the
students the “answer”. The tutor’s role is to act as a facilitator guiding the
discussion to relevant areas.

PBL suits students who are self-motivated and are capable of self-directed
learning rather than being taught through traditional methods such as
lectures. PBL students enjoy problem solving and teamwork.

The material studied may seem more relevant through always being directly
related to a “real” patient or problem and so may be easier to remember than
just learning isolated facts.

What do you think are the advantages and disadvantages of a PBL

course?

Advantages –

ƒ Based on realistic scenarios so material studied seems relevant and may

be easier to remember
ƒ Its interactive nature makes learning process more interesting
ƒ Mimics actual working conditions of working in a clinical team and needing
to discuss the best course of action for a patient and so is good
preparation for working life
ƒ Develops ability to make judgements when faced with uncertainty
ƒ Helps build team working and interpersonal skills
ƒ Helps build professional skills such as making presentations to colleagues
ƒ The group acts as a learning resource as all members share their
knowledge
ƒ Helps develop lifelong learning skills

32
Disadvantages

ƒ May be an inefficient way to learn as the learning objectives chosen by the

group may not be relevant to the problem, or may be set too wide or too
narrow and will need to be revised in subsequent sessions
ƒ Some members of the group may not pull their weight leading to most of
the work always being done by the same people
ƒ There may be conflicts and disagreements within the group about the
learning objectives which need to be set or about other matters
ƒ Members of the group with a strong personality may dominate discussions
and unduly influence the group with their ideas (which may be incorrect)

This course will require a good deal of independent study, how have you
managed this approach to learning in the past?

At some stage in the past you must have had some experience of
independent study, whether it was just doing your private study for A levels, or
studying for BMAT, MCAT or GAMSAT. Perhaps you even have some
experience of PBL from a previous degree.

Keywords to mention are time management, planning and self-motivation.

E.g.

“In the past I’ve found that to be effective my private study periods had to be
well planned. I had to have decided the important topics to be covered in a
session before the session began. Time management was also important to
ensure I completed what I had planned to do in the time available.”

What previous experiences have you had of learning in a small group

setting?

If you haven’t had any previous experiences of this type of learning you could
say –

“My previous academic experience has been in large groups. One of the
reasons I’m interested in this course is the opportunity to experience a new
teaching method.”

However before you deny ever having worked in a small group think about all
of your past academic experiences whether formal or otherwise. Have you
ever done any study with a group of friends when revising for exams at school
or university? Or were you ever required to work in small groups or discuss
work in any of your classes. If so then you do have some experience which
you can use for your answer.

E.g.

33
“When revising for my A levels / university exams I used to have revision
sessions with a few friends. I found that talking about the work with other
people made the learning process more active and memorising facts became
easier.”

Motivation for medicine

What do you want to achieve in medicine?

“My priority at the moment is to gain a place at medical school and to be a

successful medical student. Then to become the best doctor I can be and
progress professionally to finally become a consultant or GP. Until I decide
what speciality I’d like to do in the future it’s difficult to be more specific at this
stage.”

What have you read or experienced in order to prepare you for

medicine?

Many med schools expect you to have made an effort to get some work
experience in a health related setting. If you have then this question is your
opportunity to mention this.

If not then think of any other work experience you have which may be
relevant. Any work involving contact with the public or working in a team will
have some relevance to medicine and you can mention the skills you learned
in the job and how they are transferable to medicine.

E.g.

“I did voluntary work one day a week in a local hospital last year. I didn’t have
that much contact with the doctors but the experience did give me a realistic
insight into the daily routine on a ward and what it might be like to work there.

I also had plenty of patient contact which I enjoyed and I think it helped me
understand some of the issues which patients in hospital have to deal with in
hospital apart from their illness e.g. loneliness, lack of control over
environment, worrying about who is looking after their dog while they are in
hospital, worrying about how they will cope when they leave hospital if they
are still incapacitated etc.

I’ve also worked as a [waiter/supermarket checkout person/lawyer/journalist]

which involved dealing with the public and so it helped develop my
communication skills which are important in medicine as well. It also gave me
useful experience of working in a team with other people which again is
important in medicine since doctors work as part of a health care team.

34
Regarding things I’ve read to prepare myself, I’ve read the sections on both
the GMC and BMA web sites about medical careers and I downloaded the pdf
document available on the BMA web site called “Becoming a Doctor” and I
also bought the book “The Essential Guide To Becoming a Doctor” which
gives information on the training and working conditions.”

“Becoming a Doctor” – available free from the BMA here –

[Link]

“The Essential Guide To Becoming a Doctor” – available from the Gamsat

Review Bookstore here –

[Link]

Why do you believe you have the ability to undertake the study and work
involved?

“I think that the academic results I’ve achieved so far show that I am definitely
capable of the study and work necessary. Although medicine will be a new
subject for me I believe that the study skills I already possess should enable
me to make satisfactory progress.”

Why do you want to be a doctor, rather than another profession that is

caring or intellectually challenging?
Why don’t you want to be a nurse?
What aspect of healthcare attracts you to medicine?

“Medicine combines both the caring aspects of other health professions with
greater intellectual challenge. Doctors need a deeper understanding of the
physiology of the human body than other health care professionals such as
nurses. In addition doctors perform functions which cannot be done by others
such as the diagnosis of illness and prescribing treatments and medications.”

If you were to become a doctor, how would you wish your patients to
describe you and why?

See the list of desirable attributes for a doctor given above.

35
What relevance to medicine are the ‘A’ levels (apart from biology and
chemistry) that you have been studying?

If you studied statistics you could mention that it is useful for interpreting data
from trials and studies which is applicable when evaluating new drugs and
treatments or when studies are done to assess the health of a population or
the incidence of a particular disease.

If you studied physics it is very possible that you had a medical physics
module and even if you didn’t you will be able to talk about how general
physics knowledge would enable you to better understand certain medical
devices.

For example knowledge of waves is relevant to ultrasound scanning.

Knowledge of radiation is relevant to X rays and radiotherapy treatment for
cancer. Knowledge of electric currents may help in understanding
transmission of nerve impulses. Knowledge of stress and force aids
understanding of bone fractures etc.

If the subjects you studied were really nothing to do with medicine then you
could say something like –

“Well I’m studying Russian and French which aren’t directly relevant, however
the grades I’m getting do show that I have the ability to study difficult subjects
to a high level and give me confidence that I’ll be able to cope with the
workload of a medical degree.”

What is integrity?

“Firm adherence to a code of moral or ethical values”

When was the last time you acted with integrity?

If you have some interesting story about how someone tried to bribe you, or
how you informed on your best friend for cheating in an exam then mention it,
if not then try this –

“I believe integrity isn’t necessarily just displayed by some big gesture or

heroic act but should be a personal quality that we display in our day to day
life and in the way we treat other people. For example today I paid my bus
fare to get here, even though it’s very easy to get on London buses without
paying nowadays. In this interview I am trying to be truthful in the answers I
give, even though it may be tempting to exaggerate or embellish certain
things. Integrity is a personal approach to life.”

36
What is empathy?

“The ability to share someone else's feelings or experiences by imagining

what it would be like to be in their situation”

Appreciation of the realities of medicine

What do you think being a doctor entails, apart from treating patients?

The GMC lists the duties of a doctor as –

ƒ make the care of your patient your first concern;

ƒ treat every patient politely and considerately;
ƒ respect patients' dignity and privacy;
ƒ listen to patients and respect their views;
ƒ give patients information in a way they can understand;
ƒ respect the rights of patients to be fully involved in decisions about their
care;
ƒ keep your professional knowledge and skills up to date;
ƒ recognise the limits of your professional competence;
ƒ be honest and trustworthy;
ƒ respect and protect confidential information;
ƒ make sure that your personal beliefs do not prejudice your patients' care;
ƒ act quickly to protect patients from risk if you have good reason to believe
that you or a colleague may not be fit to practise;
ƒ avoid abusing your position as a doctor; and
ƒ work with colleagues in the ways that best serve patients' interests.

What do GP’s do apart from treating patients?

ƒ Liasing with other health professionals e.g. District Nurses and Health
Visitors
ƒ Training other doctors – i.e. GP registrars
ƒ Keeping their own training up to date
ƒ Financial, planning and controlling the monetary aspect of running a
practice

When you think about becoming a doctor, what do you look forward to
most and least?

See question about advantages and disadvantages of being a doctor.

What steps have you taken to try to find out whether you really do want
to become a doctor?

37
Things you can mention –

ƒ Health related work experience

ƒ Shadowing a GP or hospital doctor
ƒ Talking to doctors
ƒ Reading

What things do you think might make people inclined to drop out of
medical training?

“If someone did not have a realistic idea of the demands of a career in
medicine before they started or had not taken steps to be sure they really
wanted to work in medicine, such as gaining relevant work experience, then
this could lead to them dropping out.”

If asked what those demands are see list of negative points about being a
doctor given above.

How would you dissuade someone from going into Medicine?

See list of negative points about being a doctor given above.

How old are you when you become a consultant?

Describe the path after medical school

These sorts of questions are testing your knowledge of the career path of a
doctor.

The system is currently undergoing changes with a view to modernising

doctors training under a program called Modernising Medical Careers (MMC)
which from 2005 will see the Pre Registration House Officer and Senior
House Officer Posts become Foundation Years 1 and 2.

Under the new scheme after Foundation Year 2, doctors will be either enter
specialist training immediately (Specialist Registrar) or undertake a further 2
years training in either Core Medical Training or Core Surgical Training.
Which of these routes they take will depend on the specialty they wish to
enter since there are different requirements for each specialty.

However, the final scheme will probably be as follows –

ƒ Medical School – 4 to 6 years

ƒ Foundation Years 1&2

Then either:

38
ƒ Specialist Registrar – 5-6 years training in a chosen speciality. On
completion of further exams set by Royal medical colleges become a
Consultant, or GP Registrar – 5 years training to become a GP. On
completion of further exams become a GP Principal.

Or

ƒ Core Training – 2 years further training in either medicine or surgery and

then enter specialist training as above.

So in total it could be a further 7+ years after medical school to become a

hospital consultant or a GP.

You should be aware however that this is an area subject to continuing

change.

Who do you register with after F1 (PRHO) year?

You register with the GMC. During your first year working in a hospital you
only have provisional registration with the GMC. After successful completion
of the F1 year you gain full registration as a doctor.

What do GMC, BMA, RCS mean?

GMC – General Medical Council. It regulates doctors and maintains the

register of doctors allowed to practice in the UK.

BMA – British Medical Association. It is the doctor’s trade union representing

the interests of individual doctors and the profession as a whole.

RCS – Royal College of Surgeons. It supervises the training of surgeons.

Medical work experience

What steps have you taken to try to find out whether you really do want
to become a doctor?
What experiences have given you insight into the world of medicine?
What have you learnt from these?

See answers given above

Reflect on what you have seen of hospitals or a health care

environment. What would you most like to organise differently, and
why?

39
Have you visited any friends or family in hospital, or had work
experience in a hospital? From these experiences, what did you see that
you would like to change?

Obviously no criticism should be made of any of the hospital staff in response

to this question whether it be of doctors, nurses or anyone else.

Try and think of something you have seen that can be criticised without
causing offence e.g. the building was very old, the nurses worked very hard
but seemed to be understaffed, lack of facilities for patients etc.

Can you think of a specific case from your work experience that
confirmed your desire to be a doctor?

If there was then tell them about it.

If not (and don’t feel there has to be) say–

“There wasn’t an actual Eureka moment which hit me but the work experience
as a whole has confirmed my desire and over the course of my time there I
became gradually more convinced that I’m making the right decision.”

Other work experience (non health related)

In your work experience, what skills have you learnt that you can apply
to medicine?

This will obviously vary according to the exact nature of your employment but
some skills which could have been acquired that could be transferable to
medicine are listed below –

ƒ Communication skills
ƒ Teamwork skills
ƒ Organisational ability
ƒ Time management
ƒ Responsibility
ƒ IT skills
ƒ Problem solving skills

Can you give me an example of how you coped with a conflict with a
colleague or friend; what strategy did you use and why?

“When I disagree with someone my first strategy is to explain my point of view

in a different way as the other person may have misunderstood what I mean. I
also ask the other person to explain their point of view in a different way by

40
asking them to clarify exactly what they mean. Sometimes we can then find
some middle ground between our two positions.

If no agreement results getting the opinion or advice of a third party can

sometimes be useful.”

Thinking of your work experience, can you tell me about a difficult

situation you have dealt with and what you learned from it?

Avoid talking about any problems about working with other people or
colleagues. Stick to professional situations such as meeting deadlines,
dealing with difficult customers or computer crashes etc.

The way you dealt with the problem should show that you recognised the
problem quickly and came up with a solution.

Tell me about a project, or work experience, that you have organised,

and what you learned from it?

You should relate what you learned to the qualities necessary in a doctor. A
safe generalised answer which you can also add in this situation is to say –

“I learnt that it’s always better to ask a question even if I think it makes me
look stupid than to risk making a mistake later on through ignorance. I also
learnt not to over commit myself and that it’s better to promise less but deliver
more.”

Interest in medicine

Tell us about Hippocrates.

“Hippocrates, known as the Father of modern medicine, was a Greek

physician born in 460 BC on the island of Cos, Greece. Rejecting the
superstitions of his time he held the belief that illness had a physical and a
rational explanation. He accurately described disease symptoms and was the
first physician to accurately describe the symptoms of pneumonia. He
founded a medical school and developed an Oath of Medical Ethics for
physicians to follow. He died in 377 BC.”

What do you think was the greatest public health advance of the
twentieth century?

As mentioned previously the greatest public health advance has been the
provision of clean drinking water, followed by improved nutrition.

41
Drinking water only began to be chlorinated in the 19th century leading in
particular to cases of typhoid dysentery and cholera plummeting.

The biochemist Casimir Funk introduced the term vitamine in 1912.

Researchers later identified vitamins needed by the body to prevent
deficiency diseases such as beriberi, rickets, scurvy, and pellagra. As nutrition
has improved these diseases have virtually disappeared from developed
countries.

How do you think the rise in information technology has influenced / will
influence the practice of medicine?

“Computers are impacting all areas of medicine. Modern imaging machines

can only be operated and create images with the help of a computer to
analyse the data. As medicine becomes more specialised diagnosis and
treatment is increasingly carried out by different doctors. Computerisation of
patient records enables them to share information and communicate
effectively. Finally as medical knowledge increases at an ever-faster rate
there is an increasing requirement for doctors to continue their professional
education. Computer based techniques and resources are increasingly being
used to achieve this.”

Personal qualities & achievements

Why should we choose you?

“I believe I have the necessary personal and academic qualities to succeed at

medical school and to go on to be a good doctor.

I’m a competent person in the sense that I if I need to do something I can

usually do it well. I think my [academic results/career achievements/sporting
achievements/other achievements] demonstrate this. I think this is one of the
most important qualities for a doctor since an incompetent doctor could put
lives at risk.

I’m also a person who cares about the well being of others which again I think
you can see from my [voluntary work/charity collections/involvement in
student unions or as student representative]

I’ve also made an effort to ensure I have a realistic idea of what working as a
doctor is really like through my work experience at my local hospital. This
helped me to gain an appreciation of a doctor’s work and some of the issues
which affect doctors working conditions.

The experience convinced me I would enjoy being a doctor and gave me even
more motivation to become one, which is why I think you should give me a
chance to study at your medical school.”

42
Can you tell us about any particular life experiences that you think may
help or hinder you in a career in medicine?

Another opportunity to talk about your work experience in a health care

setting, or skills you have gained from employment, or study skills, or
teamwork skills whether gained from work or playing sports.

“I’ve also worked as a [waiter/supermarket checkout person/lawyer/journalist]

which involved dealing with the public and so it helped develop my
communication skills which are very important in medicine. I also improved
my organisational and time management skills as well as learning to work
effectively as part of a team.

My academic experience so far and the exams I’ve had to take helped me to
learn self directed study skills which will be important not only during my time
at medical school but also later in my career when continuous professional
development and keeping my skills up to date will be important.

Finally, the voluntary work I did in a local hospital last year gave me a realistic
insight into what working in a hospital and caring for sick people is like and
has definitely helped prepare me for when I first start working after finishing
medical school.”

What ways of working and studying have you developed that you think
will assist you through medical school? What will you need to improve?

“In both my work and my studies I’ve learnt that it is very important to plan
what I want to achieve before I start any project or study session and I set
myself objectives. I’ve developed quite good time management and so I
usually manage to meet the objectives I’ve set. If any task takes longer than
expected I would prioritise the remaining tasks so that I finish the most
important ones first.

I think these are skills which will be important to me at medical school where I
will probably have a high workload and will be responsible for my own
progress.

I don’t think there’s anything I need to improve specifically regarding my study

skills but if I see I the need to adapt my method of working to suit the specific
circumstances of medical school then I will.”

What are your outside interests and hobbies? How do these

complement you as a person? Which do you think you will continue at
university?

Team sports are preferable to mention here as it shows you can get on with
other people, however if you play an individual sport like tennis there are also
advantages you can mention.

43
“I play cricket as often as I can. Work and studying are obviously important
but so are other aspects of life such as keeping fit and unwinding. Playing in a
team means I make a lot of good friends and it’s something I’d definitely like
to continue playing if I come to university.”

“I play tennis as often as I can. Work and studying are obviously important but
so are other aspects of life such as keeping fit and unwinding. I like tennis
because I can play with my regular opponents but can also play against new
people I meet so it’s good for my social life too. I’d definitely like to continue
playing if I come to university.”

Tell us two personal qualities you have which would make you a good
doctor, and two personal shortcomings which you think you would like
to overcome as you become doctor?
If you could change two things about yourself, what would they be and
why?
What qualities do you lack that would be useful for a doctor, and what
do you intend to do about this?
What qualities do you think other people value in you?
How do you think other people would describe you?

The “good” personal qualities you mention here should correlate with the
desirable qualities of a good doctor given above from the BMA.

“I’m a competent person in the sense that I if I need to do something I can

usually do it well. I think my [academic results/career achievements/sporting
achievements/other achievements] demonstrate this. I think this is one of the
most important qualities for a doctor since an incompetent doctor could put
lives at risk.

I’m also a person who cares about the well being of others which again I think
you can see from my [voluntary work/charity collections/involvement in
student unions or as student representative]

I’m not perfect but I don’t think I have any major personality defects or
shortcomings which would hinder my work as a doctor although there’s
always room for improvement and I’m open to constructive criticism.”

I suggest you finish your answer there, but if pressed by the interviewers to
give defects or weaknesses say something like -

“For example I do sometimes feel stressed if I have a lot of work to do in a

short amount of time but I have coping strategies for dealing with my stress
such as good time management at work and unwinding after work by playing
sport.

44
A second one is that I always have a lot of ideas and I don’t have any
problems about talking in front of other people, so sometimes when working in
groups I can monopolise the discussion. I’m aware that this is something I do
so I do try and make a conscious effort to hold myself back and let others
participate.”

Or alternatively –

“I’m a very good listener and sometimes when working in groups I let other
people talk more than me. This can sometimes be a problem as I have some
good ideas which the group doesn’t get to hear. I’m trying to overcome this by
always speaking up if I feel I have something important to say.”

How will you cope with being criticised or even sued?

“That depends on the reason for the criticism and how the criticism is given. I
am always open to constructive criticism and I understand that criticism will be
part of my on the job training, however I believe that everyone has the right to
work without being insulted or abused. I know that litigation is an increasing
problem for doctors nowadays but I don’t think there’s anything I can do
individually about that except do my own job to the best of my ability.”

Personal interests

Have you seen a film or read a book recently that has made you think,
and why?

The only important thing when answering this question is that you really have
read the book or film. Then if you are asked further questions about it you
won’t look foolish.

It is probably best to mention a less well known book or film. If the

interviewers haven’t read or seen it then they can’t ask any awkward
questions about it.

Tell me about a non-academic project or piece of organisation that you

were involved in. How did it go?

It doesn’t matter what example you choose here, the only thing that matters is
that it shows that you have used important skills.

If you have worked you may have examples of work projects to recount. If not
think about any sporting or hobby events you have organised. Even a trip you
have organised could be employed to show yourself in a good light.

E.g.

45
“A couple of months ago a group of us decided to go to London to visit the
Science Museum. I volunteered to find out where the museum was and the
necessary travel information. I had to plan carefully because we all live in
different places and had to leave at different times and travel by different
routes to meet up. I researched the train and tube routes and timetables and I
made a personalised itinerary for everyone. To my surprise we all met up in
the right place and at the right time in London.”

What interests do you bring from school/college life that you think will
contribute to your studies?

Membership of clubs or societies as well as sports you play are all good
things to mention. The interviewers just want to see that you are not a one
dimensional character but a well balanced person with a social life.

These things contribute to your studies by helping you relax and de-stress so
you can attack your studies with renewed vigour afterwards.

Experience & knowledge of teamwork

Thinking about your membership of a team (in a work, sport, school or

other setting), can you tell us about the most important contributions
you made to the team?
Modern day health care is very much a team effort. Please tell us a role
that you have played in a team, and what you think you contributed.
Can you think of a team situation where your communication skills have
been vital? Tell us about the situation and your contribution.

“The aim of working in a team is to co operate together to achieve a shared

objective. When I work as part of a team my approach is to perform my role in
a way which helps the other team members perform their jobs in an efficient
fashion. Communication within the team is essential for this process so I
always value the opinions of other team members and listen to their ideas.”

When you think about yourself working as a doctor, who do you think
will be the most important people in the team you will be working with?

“By definition a team is a group of people working together to achieve a

common goal. Everyone has their own role to play and the team members are
relying on each other. If one person doesn’t do their job properly then the
team as a whole suffers, so I don’t think it’s possible to say that any one
person is more important than any other in a team situation.”

46
Are you a leader or a follower?

“Effective leadership requires a set of skills and abilities that take time to
develop. Anyone who thinks they have nothing more to learn can never be an
effective leader. If I felt I had acquired the necessary skills then I wouldn’t be
afraid to take on positions with more responsibility.”

What are the advantages and disadvantages of being in a team? Do

teams need leaders?

Advantages –

ƒ Improved morale from working with others

ƒ Mutual encouragement
ƒ Sharing of ideas
ƒ Different abilities of team members complement each other
ƒ Mutual support e.g. one team member can cover for another in case of
illness/absence etc.
ƒ Sharing of workload enables more work to be done than working
individually
ƒ Builds communication skills

Disadvantages –

ƒ Requires more effort from the members

ƒ Requires more resources e.g. meeting rooms etc
ƒ May be a slower way of working since more discussion/planning is
required
ƒ Poor performance from one team member may negatively impact
everyone else
ƒ May be harder to apportion responsibility when things go wrong

“A team works best when any plan of action has been arrived at through
mutual consensus and the contributions of all the members are given
consideration. One person simply telling others what to do cannot be truly
called a team. However a team may benefit from someone being given the
role of Chairman who acts as a facilitator in group discussions and may have
a casting vote in cases of deadlock.”

What do you think of nurses developing extended roles and undertaking

tasks previously done by doctors?
What do you think are the advantages and disadvantages of nurses
replacing doctors as the first contact person in primary care?

47
“There has probably always been a certain amount of overlap between
functions carried out by doctors and nurses. If a nurse is appropriately trained
and qualified in a particular procedure or task then there is no reason why that
area of overlap should not expand as long as patient care is always the main
priority. This may benefit doctors also by reducing their workload and allowing
them time for more complicated cases.”

Will there be any advantages and disadvantages to the PATIENT if

doctors are working in a team?

Advantages –

ƒ More people to care for him

ƒ More constant care i.e. when one team member finishes his shift, another
member with knowledge of the patient starts
ƒ More people available with knowledge of the patient
ƒ Sharing of knowledge & experience between the doctors

Disadvantages –

ƒ May be difficult to determine who has overall responsibility for the patient
ƒ Patient may be unsure who is in charge of his treatment
ƒ May be lack of effective communication between the doctors
ƒ Patient may feel he is getting less personal attention from the doctors
ƒ May be disagreements among the doctors
ƒ The more complicated any system becomes, the greater is the likelihood
of errors occurring. If a team becomes too large this is a possibility.

Communication skills

What skills do you think are needed in order to communicate with your
patients; how do you think they are best acquired?
Can you learn communication skills?

The following are aspects of good communication skills –

ƒ Comfortable atmosphere – introductions etc

ƒ Remove “barriers” e.g. desk between yourself and patient
ƒ Open questions i.e. questions which cannot be answered with a “yes” or
“no” e.g. “Tell me about….”
ƒ Listening
ƒ Empathy – demonstrate concern for patients experience
ƒ Confirming – with the use of questions and paraphrasing both that you
have understood the patient and that they have understood you e.g. “So
what you are saying is…..”

48
ƒ Not interrupting the patient, allow them to finish
ƒ Be aware of non verbal signals
ƒ Don’t use medical jargon – use language suitable for a lay person
ƒ Give patient opportunity to ask questions

Communication skills, just like all skills can be taught and learned and the
skills acquired can be perfected through practice.

Awareness of barriers to good communication, observing others

communicate, having others observe you and give feedback and practising
the skills learned are the best ways to achieve good communications skills.

Communication skills are on the curriculum at most (all?) medical schools, so

you will need to demonstrate a positive attitude to learning them in the
interview.

How have you developed your communication skills?

Here is another question where you can bring in any of your experiences
working as part of a team either at work or as part of some academic project
or any experience you have had of dealing with the public.

E.g.

“As I mentioned before I’ve had work experience where I was part of a team
and I’ve also worked on academic projects at school/university with other
students. Whenever I work in this type of situation I always try and develop
my communication skills by being sensitive to the needs of the group. I do this
by listening to others viewpoints and also by trying to express my own
viewpoints as clearly as I can.”

What would you prefer in a doctor? Bad communication skills with good
clinical skills or good communication skills with bad clinical skills?
Why?

“The two skills cannot be separated, communication skills are part of clinical
skills. If a doctor does not communicate well with a patient he may not gain all
the necessary information in order to make a correct diagnosis”

Self awareness & personal development

When was the last time you had to make a decision without knowing all
the facts?

“It is rare to know all the possible facts about every situation before making
any kind of decision. Nearly every decision we make in life is based on a set

49
of assumptions. When I decided to take the train here, I did not know if the
train driver was drunk or not, or when the brakes on the train had last been
checked. Making decisions involves coping with uncertainties and making a
judgement about the level of uncertainty you are willing to accept for any
particular decision.”

Knowledge of NHS

When was the NHS founded?

“The NHS was founded in 1948 by the Labour Prime Minister Aneurin Bevan”

How has the NHS revolutionised medicine?

“Unlike the previous situation which existed in the UK and still exists today in
many other countries the NHS makes health care free at the point of use for
everyone and is financed by central taxation.”

What is wrong with the NHS?

What problems are there in the NHS other than the lack of funding?

Ageing population – as the demographic make up of the population changes

and an ever increasing proportion of the population is composed of the elderly
the cost to the NHS continues to rise. Older people simply get ill more often
as well as suffer from more long term and chronic health problems which can
be costly to treat.

Increasing cost of modern treatments and drugs – technological advances

have led to significantly improved methods of diagnosis and treatment but this
comes at a price, modern scanners for example CAT scanners can cost
millions of pounds. New drugs can cost thousands of pounds a year to treat a
single patient.

New demands placed on its resources e.g. infertility treatment – new

treatment options which were not available before place an extra strain on
resources.

Long waiting lists

Regional variations in health care – e.g. some drugs treatments not

available in some places, but available in others.

Staff shortages – nurses and doctors.

50
Administrative and management problems – with any organisation as large
and complex as the NHS the task of administration and management will
always be complex and subject to problems.

Population health

In what ways do you think doctors can promote good health, other than
direct treatment of illness?

Preventative medicine is an important part of a doctor’s role. Illness can be

prevented by a variety of methods –

ƒ vaccination
ƒ education about risks e.g. of sunbathing, smoking, drinking
ƒ promotion of healthy lifestyles e.g. healthy eating and benefits of exercise”
ƒ through personal example

What does the current government see as the national priorities in

health care? Do you agree with these?

ƒ Shorter waiting times

ƒ Giving patients more choice about how, when and where they receive
treatment implemented via the “Choose and Book” system by which
patients choose the time date and place of appointments and book online
when referred to a specialist by their GP.
ƒ Improving the organisation of emergency care
ƒ Cleaner hospitals

If asked what you think of particular reforms be careful to avoid giving political
views or criticising government policy since you do not know if the
interviewers will agree with you.

It is best to put the answer in terms of “I have read some criticisms of the
reforms because….” Or “I know some people do not like the reforms
because….”

E.g.

“I am aware that the Choose and Book system has been criticised because if
patients can choose where they are treated it may lead to over-demand for
some hospitals and under-demand for others. Hospitals with under-demand
may then have to close which would reduce overall capacity in the NHS. If this
does in fact happen then it is obviously an undesirable outcome.”

51
Gender & cultural awareness

In the UK at present 60% of medical students are female. Do you think

we should have equal quotas for medical school places for males and
females?

“I think entry to medical school should be based on merit measured by

objective factors such as exam results and interview performance and not on
the basis of factors such as gender or race or any other factor which could be
perceived as discriminatory. I’m not sure why female medical students
currently outnumber male students but I don’t see why it should cause any
problems.”

What do you think will be the consequences of having more female

doctors than male doctors?

“In some cases and for certain conditions a patient may prefer to see a doctor
of the same sex. However on the whole I can’t see any major consequences
being caused by there being more female doctors than male doctors since all
doctors undergo the same training and are capable of treating patients to the
same high professional standards.”

Medicine will bring you into contact with a vast range of different
people, with different cultures; what experience have you had of
different types of people?

“At my [school/university/on my gap year/school exchange/holidays/travels] I

had the opportunity to come into contact with people from different cultural
backgrounds. However I prefer to think of people as individuals rather than on
the basis of belonging to a different cultural group to my own. However I am
aware of the fact that to avoid misunderstandings or causing offence it is
sometimes necessary to be aware of differing beliefs and attitudes whether
arising from cultural, religious or personal practices.”

Issues involved in research

Is research important?
What’s the point of research?

“Research is very important. Virtually all medical treatments which exist today
are derived either directly or indirectly from research discoveries. Continuing
research is necessary to improve existing treatments and to discover new
ones and the underlying causes of illness."

52
Name some research?

Most medical schools have their own research programmes and it would be
impressive if you could quote some of the research being done by the
university which is interviewing you.

E.g.

“I was reading last week that St. George’s University has won a grant of $19.7
from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to develop an HIV vaccine that
stimulates immune responses in the lining of the vagina, which serves as the
entry point for HIV for most women.”

Information such as this is easily found on university websites.

If a benefactor offered you a huge amount of money to set up a Medical

Research Institute and invited you to become its director, what research
area would you choose to look at, and why?

“The World Health Organisation (WHO) says Aids, tuberculosis (TB),

measles, malaria, diarrhoeal diseases such as dysentery and cholera, and
acute respiratory infections such as pneumonia are responsible for 90% of all
deaths due to infectious diseases. Diarrhea alone contributes to the deaths of
2 million to 3 million young children each year so research funding could be
best spent investigating solutions to problems like these”

What are the ethical issues involved in research?

ƒ Does the research have genuine scientific value?

ƒ Is the work original i.e. not plagiarised?

ƒ Does the research require the approval of an ethics committee?

ƒ Will the research involve animals? If so will their treatment follow

acceptable standards?

ƒ Will the research involve humans? If so issues to consider are:

ƒ Has consent been obtained from the subjects?

ƒ In order to obtain consent the purpose and what is involved in participation

must be fully explained.

ƒ Have any risks been fully explained?

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ƒ Will a placebo be used? Is it ethical to use a placebo on an ill person?

ƒ Can a participant leave the trial without it negatively affecting their

treatment?

ƒ Have sufficient measures been taken to preserve the confidential data of

the participants and preserve their anonymity?

ƒ Will all the academics who worked on the research be given due credit in
any published papers?

Answering Ethical Case Studies

Many med schools now include some kind of ethical case as part of the
interview. This may take the form of a question posed to you in the interview
or you may be given the case to work on before the interview and then be
asked to present your conclusions to the interviewers.

In any kind of ethical case there will usually not be a “right” or “wrong” answer.
The object is to discover if you are aware of the ethical issues involved and
can apply them to a set of facts.

When answering a case study try and mention the perspective of all parties
involved, patients, doctors, relatives and the courts. Look at the problem from
all possible angles, generally the more things you mention the better.

Most of the ethical cases you will encounter at interview will fall into one of
four categories –

ƒ Confidentiality
ƒ Consent
ƒ Resource Allocation
ƒ End of Life

Let’s look at some of the issues you should be aware of for each category and
see how they can be applied to a particular scenario.

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Confidentiality

Patients have a right to confidentiality and a right to expect that information

about them will not be disclosed without their permission.

This right arises from two sources:

1. Doctors have a common law duty of confidentiality because the law

recognises that it is in the public interest for patients to be able to trust
their doctors to maintain confidentiality.

2. The GMC which regulates doctors states - “Patients have a right to expect
that information about them will be held in confidence by their doctors.
Confidentiality is central to trust between doctors and patients. Without
assurances about confidentiality, patients may be reluctant to give doctors
the information they need in order to provide good care.”

Note: GMC guidance does not have the force of law although the courts
consider its guidance persuasive. A doctor not following GMC guidance may
be struck off the register.
However there are certain circumstances when a doctor can breach
confidentiality and certain circumstances when they must breach
confidentiality.

Some statutes require disclosure e.g. Public Health (Control of Disease) Act
1984 and Public Health (Infectious Diseases) Regulations 1988. A doctor
must notify the relevant local authority officer (usually a public health
consultant) if he suspects a patient of having a notifiable disease. AIDS and
HIV are not notifiable diseases.

GMC guidance to doctors also allows (but there is no obligation to do so)

disclosure of personal information without consent where failure to do so may
expose the patient or others to risk of death or serious harm. However before
making the disclosure a doctor must –

ƒ Attempt to persuade the patient to inform the person first.

ƒ If the patient refuses, inform the patient you are going to make the
disclosure.

Note this guidance only allows disclosure to an identifiable person at risk, not
a general disclosure.

Despite the common law duty of confidentiality the courts sometimes support
doctors who feel they need to breach confidentiality –

E.g.

W v Edgell [1990] 1 ALL ER 835

55
The complainant was a patient in a secure hospital after killing five people. He
applied to a mental health tribunal to be transferred to a regional unit. Dr
Edgell a psychiatrist, was asked by W's lawyers to provide a confidential
expert opinion to show that W was not a danger to the public. Unfortunately
Dr Edgell believed that in fact W was still dangerous and knowing that his
opinion would not be included in the patient's notes, sent a copy to the
medical director of the hospital and to the Home Office.

W brought an action for breach of confidence.

The Court of Appeal held that the breach was justified in the public interest,
however, the Court said the risk must be 'real, immediate and serious'.

Now let’s see how we might apply these principles to a scenario –

Dan visits his GP who diagnoses him as suffering from syphilis. Dan admits to
visiting a prostitute a few weeks previously. The GP suggests Dan tells his
wife as she may need to come in for tests herself, the GP also knows that
Dan’s wife is 7 months pregnant. Dan refuses saying that the marriage has
been going through a rough patch recently and if his wife found out he had
visited a prostitute that he is sure she would ask for a divorce.
What should the GP do?

The issues to consider are

ƒ Patient autonomy i.e. the principal that a doctor should respect his patients
wishes and Dan does not want his wife told.

ƒ Confidentiality, arising both from a legal duty of confidentiality and GMC

guidance.

ƒ Risks to Dan’s wife if she is not informed she may be infected

ƒ Risks to the baby

ƒ Consequences to Dan if his wife finds out

Syphilis is not a notifiable disease, in any case the legislation only requires
notification to a local authority officer and not anyone else such as Dan’s wife
so this does not help the GP.

The GP must weigh up the consequences to Dan of disclosing the information

to his wife with the possible consequences to the wife and baby if he does not
disclose. Although in law a foetus is not a person and has no rights until it is
born.

Following GMC guidance since Dan’s wife is an identifiable person and may
be at risk of serious harm (contracting syphilis) the GP may breach
confidentiality and inform her of her husbands condition. However before he
does this he should try and persuade Dan to do it himself, explaining fully the

56
possible risks to his wife and baby. He should explain to Dan that if he does
not tell her himself that he will do it.

Consent

Cases involving consent usually fall into one of two categories

ƒ A competent person refuses consent to a treatment

ƒ An incompetent person refuses consent to a treatment

A patient must consent to any medical treatment otherwise the doctor

commits a battery which is a criminal offence. Battery is any non-consensual
touching - it does not have to harm the patient.

So a patient must be competent and consent.

Competence

Adults – to be competent must be 18 or over and satisfy the following

conditions set out in the legal case of Re: C

• comprehend and retain treatment information

• believe it AND
• weigh it up to arrive at a choice

Children –

16 and over are treated as adults and can consent (The Family Reform Act
1969)

Under 16 – may be able to consent if they are “Gillick” competent i.e. has
sufficient intelligence and understanding to enable him / her to understand the
treatment and implications of treatment.

So for example a doctor could prescribe contraception to an under 16 year old

if he felt they were competent without informing the parents.

If a competent adult refuses treatment

The doctor must respect their wishes even if the patient will die (this also
applies to pregnant women)

Per Lord Templeman in Sidaway v Board of Governors of Bethlem Royal

Hospital [1985] 1 AC 171

57
"The patient is entitled to reject advice for reasons which are rational, or
irrational, or for no reason.”

If a competent child refuses treatment

Although a child is judged competent at 16 they are treated differently from

adults and may not have the right to refuse treatment. A refusal of consent
which would result in the death or permanent disability of the child may be
overridden by a parent or the Court.

E.g.

Re M [1999] 2 FLR 1097

M was a competent 15 ½ year old who required a heart transplant but refused
consent on the grounds that she did not want someone else's heart. It was
considered to be in her best interests to have the transplant.

If an adult refuses treatment for a child

If a parent refuses to consent to treatment for their child (e.g. a Jehovah’s

Witness refusing to allow a child to be given a blood transfusion) then doctors
are permitted to treat the child without consent in order to avoid the death or
permanent disability of the child.

If an incompetent adult refuses treatment

There are no statutes covering this except for patients detained under the
Mental Health Act which only permits compulsory treatment in relation to the
psychiatric condition for which the patient has been "sectioned".

For treatment for other conditions the GMC gives guidance that treatment
may be given if it is in the patients “best interest”.

Note that relatives etc cannot consent or refuse consent for another adult
even if they are incompetent.

Example.

Sarah a 27 year old patient with severe learning difficulties has developed
renal failure and requires dialysis while she is awaiting a kidney transplant.
However she has recently become difficult and begun refusing dialysis as she
does not like staying for long periods in the dialysis room.

Issues –

58
ƒ Patient autonomy, the doctors should respect as far as possible Sarah’s
wishes

ƒ Is Sarah competent? Can she comprehend and retain treatment

information, believe it and weigh it up to arrive at a choice? (the Re: C test)

ƒ Have doctors made sufficient effort to explain to Sarah the consequences

of refusal of treatment?

ƒ Have doctors sufficiently acknowledged Sarah’s needs and addressed her

dislike of staying in the dialysis room? What about providing entertainment
e.g. TV / books while she has treatment?

ƒ While doctors do not have to follow wishes of relatives they should try and
take their opinions into account.

As it seems that Sarah is not competent the doctors would have to carefully
weigh up whether it was in her best interest to treat her against her wishes. If
they do not treat her she will die. On the other hand forcing her to have
treatment on a regular basis against her will, which may involve restraining
her or sedating her, may cause Sarah intolerable distress.

On balance treating her is probably the best solution but this case shows that
there is often not a “right” answer and not treating her could equally be
argued.

Resource allocation

Professional guidance

The GMC states that a doctor should consider the needs of his patients
individually, whilst also taking into account that treatment for a particular
patient may impact on the availability of treatment other patients and the
community.

It also states that those whose healthcare needs are greatest or most urgent
on clinical assessment should receive priority.

National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE)

Is a Special Health Authority for England and Wales on 1 April 1999. It is part
of the National Health Service (NHS) and its stated role is to

"provide patients, health professionals and the public with authoritative,

robust and reliable guidance on current 'best practice.”

59
Health professionals have an obligation to provide treatment which NICE has
recommended to be provided.

Legal Considerations

The European Convention on Human Rights

Article 2 states that there is a ‘right to life’. However this does not impose an
obligation on member states to fund every treatment, they may act reasonably
in allocating limited resources.
A refusal to fund medical treatment because of the advanced age of the
patient could be a breach of Article 2 and Article 14 (prohibition on
discrimination).

Treatment in EU Member States under E112

Prior authorisation from the Department of Health can be obtained for a

patient to receive treatment abroad under the E112 scheme where he/she
would otherwise face ‘undue delay’.
What is undue delay?

There is no clear cut answer, however in the case of Watts v Bedford PCT
and the Department of Health [2004] EWCA Civ 166 a patient was refused
E112 treatment in France for a hip replacement since the waiting time of one
year for her operation in the UK was considered normal. The court said the
fact that a waiting time is normal (in the UK) does not necessarily mean that it
is reasonable and that other factors need to be taken into account such as
whether the patient is in pain, has had repeated delays in treatment or will
suffer deterioration if treatment is delayed.

Judicial Review

A patient who has been refused treatment may appeal to the court by way of
judicial review. This is a process whereby the courts will look at the WAY in
which the decision to refuse treatment has been taken to ensure that correct
procedures were followed relevant considerations taken into account and was
it reasonable and proportionate.

They will not however get involved in deciding if the decision itself was
correct.

In R v Cambridge HA ex p B [1995] 2 All E.R. 129 the court refused to

overturn the Health Authorities decision to not provide further treatment to a
10 year old girl with leukaemia saying –

"Difficult and agonising judgements have to be made as to how a limited

budget is best allocated to the maximum advantage of the maximum number
of patients. That is not a judgement which the court can make."

60
Let’s try and apply the principles to a case –

You have one dialysis machine to share between three patients. One is a 17-
year-old drug addict who has just overdosed, one is a 40-year old woman with
terminal breast cancer and only 6 months of life expectancy, the third one is a
70-year old marathon runner. Who gets the machine?

There will be no right or wrong answer, but issues to discuss will include –

ƒ Are any of them in more urgent need i.e. in more danger of dying sooner
than the others? GMC guidance requires doctors to give priority to those
whose needs are more urgent.

ƒ Deciding to treat on the basis of the age of the patient may be illegal under
Article 2 and Article 14 (prohibition on discrimination) of the European
Convention of Human Rights.

ƒ Is the treatment likely to be more successful on any particular patient?

ƒ Should we take into account the fact that the 17-year-old has inflicted her
condition on herself through abuse of drugs?

ƒ Is she still using drugs? Will this affect the likely success of the dialysis
and therefore whether she should be given dialysis?

ƒ Should we try and measure a “value” of the treatment for each patient?
For example –
The 70 year old man, it may be tempting to think his remaining years of
life are somehow worth less than a younger persons, but how is the
enjoyment he gets from his remaining years and their intrinsic value
measured? As mentioned this approach is probably also illegal.

The 40 year old woman only has 6 months left to live, it may seem a
“waste” to give her the dialysis, but who can measure how valuable her
last 6 months and the opportunity to say goodbye to her family etc are
to her?

ƒ How far should we respect patient autonomy i.e. if one patient insists they
want treatment?

ƒ Are all of them your patient? A doctor has a duty to act in the best interests
of his patient, how far should he consider the needs of other patients
elsewhere in the hospital?

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End of life

General considerations:

Distinction between acts and omissions, there is a difference between

actively killing someone and refraining from an action that may save or
preserve them.

Doctrine of Double Effect, there is a moral distinction between acting with

the intention to cause a person's death and performing an act where death is
a foreseen but unintended consequence. E.g. providing high levels of pain
relief but knowing that the pain relief may have the undesired consequence of
hastening death.

The duty to act in the patient's best interest in some circumstances, if

existing quality of life is so poor, then the balance of harms and benefits may
indicate that continuing treatment is not a benefit to the patient.

Professional Guidelines

The BMA and GMC have both issued guidance suggesting that it is not an
appropriate goal of medicine to prolong life at all costs, with no regard to its
quality or the burdens of treatment and there is no ethical or legal obligation to
provide it.

Also:

ƒ There is no need to make a distinction between not starting the treatment

and withdrawing it

ƒ Oral nutrition and hydration (but not artificial) form part of a patient's basic
care and should not be withdrawn

Legal considerations

It is illegal to actively assist in a suicide

A competent patient can refuse treatment, even if that results in the patient's
death (Re B Consent to treatment: Capacity, 2002).

But a patient cannot request that a positive act is taken to end his/her life as
this amounts to assisting a suicide.

Where the intention is to relieve pain, if the life of a terminally ill patient is
shortened as a side effect of giving pain - relieving drugs, this is lawful under
the doctrine of double effect.

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Withdrawing or witholding treatment which results in the patient's death is
permissible where it is not in the patient's interests to continue treatment,
(Airedale NHS Trust v Bland [1993] 1 All ER 821).

Clinical case:

Baby A was born with severe brain damage and an inability to respond to
stimuli. He needs artificial ventilation without which he would die almost
immediately. The doctors believe it is not in the baby's best interests to
continue with artificial ventilation. If ventilation is continued he would live for at
most one year, probably experiencing pain and distress. The parents however
believe the baby is getting better and refuse to agree to switch the ventilator
off.

Issues to consider –

ƒ Doctors must act in babies best interest

ƒ Per guidance from GMC doctors do not have to prolong life at all costs

ƒ Doctors cannot actively assist in killing the baby

ƒ However withdrawing treatment is legal.

ƒ Due weight should be given to the parents wishes, however the doctors
are not obliged to continue treatment.

ƒ Resource issues – consideration must be given to the fact that the baby is
occupying a ventilator which may be needed for other babies. Doctors
have a duty to consider the needs of other patients for scarce resources.

Advance Directives

Are a legally recognised document (or verbal statement) setting out how
someone wishes to be treated in the future if they become incapable of
expressing their wishes. E.g. a wish not to be resuscitated in the event of
cardiac arrest.

In order to be valid an advance directive must

• Be made by a competent adult (18 and over).

• Be entered into voluntarily
• The individual must be sufficiently informed about the medical
prognosis if the advance refusal is respected.
• Be applicable to the circumstances that arise.

Doctors must respect advance directives in keeping with the principles of

patient autonomy and consent. However in cases of doubt they may need to
consider –

63
Is the directive valid?
Does it apply to the circumstances of this case?
Is there any evidence the patient has revoked it or changed his mind?

If there is any doubt then guidance from the GMC states that there should be
a presumption in favour of life and emergency treatment should be provided.

Questions you should ask

At the end of the interview you may be given the opportunity to ask some
questions of your own.

In job interviews it is virtually compulsory to have some questions prepared

about the job you will be doing or the company. However this is not a job
interview, you are applying to be a student so the range of questions you can
ask is limited.

For this reason I don’t recommend asking questions just for the sake of asking
a question. It is quite acceptable when asked if you have any questions to just
say, “No I think all my questions have already been answered thank you.”

Nevertheless if you want to ask a question and think your question is

reasonably intelligent, then feel free to do so.

Here are a couple of questions which will always go down well –

If there has been a question in the interview you struggled with or were not
sure if you gave the right answer it is always good to ask –

“When you asked me about….X…..what were you looking for in the answer?”

Even if you messed up the answer to the question this shows that you are
aware of your weaknesses and show an interest in learning, which will no
doubt impress the interviewers.

Another good question to pose is to ask the interviewers what THEY think the
best things about their medical school are. This gives them a chance to boast
a bit and again shows that you are interested in learning from THEM.

64
Finishing
After you have asked your questions the interviewers may end the interview
themselves or may ask you if you want to say anything else. In either case
thank the interviewers for seeing you and say it was nice to meet them. Shake
their hands before you leave.

What if the interview was unfair?

Occasionally it happens that someone feels that their interview wasn’t fair,
and sometimes (but not always) they are right.

There are usually four ways an interview could be unfair –

1. The interviewers were rude or made fun of you.

2. The questions asked were improper e.g. asking a female candidate if she
plans to have children.

3. The interview was not in the format you were told.

4. The questions were too difficult.

Situations 1,2 and 3 are easier to recognise. No one should have to put up
with a rude or overly aggressive interviewer, nor is it acceptable for an
interviewer to mock or laugh at a candidate or ask questions which are
discriminatory in nature.

Similarly, the interview should be in the format you were told, it is not
acceptable to spring surprises on you at the last minute.

Situation 3 is harder to recognise or prove, because you may feel that a

question was unfairly difficult but it would only be unfair if other candidates
were not asked similar questions. The problem is how do you know what
other candidates were asked?

In any case, if you feel strongly that your interview was unfair in any way, you
should contact the university concerned as soon as possible after the
interview to make your concerns known. There have been cases of people
being given second interviews, so sometimes the universities will admit it if a
mistake has been made.

Fortunately the vast majority of interviews are fair and well conducted so
hopefully this is not a situation you will face.

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Full list of 153 questions
Complete list of 153 questions as reported by actual candidates from
interviews organized by the following categories –

A - Knowledge of the Medical School

B - Motivation for medicine
C - Depth and breadth of interest
D - Team work
E - Personal Insight
F - Understanding of the role of medicine in society
G - Work Experience
H - Tolerance of ambiguity

A - Knowledge of the Medical School

1. What interests you about the curriculum at [Medical School]? What
previous experiences have you had of learning in a small group setting?

2. When you read the [Medical School] prospectus, what appealed to you or
interested you in the course here?

3. Tell us what attracts you most and least about [Medical School].

4. What do you know about the course at [Medical School]? Why do you
think it will suit you personally?

5. What do you know about PBL? Why do you want to come to a PBL
medical school?

6. What do you think are the advantages and disadvantages of a PBL

course?

7. I expect you have thought about problem-based learning. Why do you

think a PBL course will suit you personally?

8. What do you think are the advantages and disadvantages of coming to a

new medical school?

9. This course will require a good deal of independent study, how have you
managed this approach to learning in the past?

10. Why do you think problem based learning will suit you personally?

66
11. What previous experiences have you had of learning in a small group
setting?

B - Motivation for medicine

1. Why do you want to be a doctor? What do you want to achieve in
medicine?

2. What have you read or experienced in order to prepare you for medicine?

3. Why do you believe you have the ability to undertake the study and work
involved?

4. Why do you want to be a doctor, rather than another profession that is

caring or intellectually challenging?

5. What do you think being a doctor entails, apart from treating patients?

6. What branch of medicine do you think would interest you? Why?

7. When you think about becoming a doctor, what do you look forward to
most and least?

8. What impact do you hope to make in the field of medicine?

9. What one question would you ask if you were interviewing others to study
medicine? What would you most like us to ask you in this interview?

10. Why study medicine rather than any other health care profession? How do
you think medicine differs from other health professions?

11. What aspect of healthcare attracts you to medicine?

12. Why do you want to be a doctor? If you were to become a doctor, how
would you wish your patients to describe you and why?

13. What steps have you taken to try to find out whether you really do want to
become a doctor?

14. What things do you think might make people inclined to drop out of
medical training?

15. There are many different ways of helping people. Why do you want to
study medicine, rather than working in any other health or social care
professions?

16. Can you tell us about any particular life experiences that you think may
help or hinder you in a career in medicine?

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17. How would you dissuade someone from going into Medicine.

18. How old are you when you become a consultant?

C - Depth and breadth of interest

1. Do you read any medical publications?

2. Tell us about Hippocrates.

3. Can you tell me about a significant recent advance in medicine or

science? Why has this interested you?

4. What do you consider to be important advances in medicine over the last

50 / 100 years?

5. Can you tell us about any significant medical stories in the media at the
moment?

6. Tell us about something in the history of medicine that interests you.

7. Have you seen a film or read a book recently that has made you think, and
why?

8. What do you think is the most important medical discovery in the last 100 -
200 years, and why?

9. If a benefactor offered you a huge amount of money to set up a Medical

Research Institute and invited you to become its director, what research
area would you choose to look at, and why?

10. Can you tell us about a book or a film that has influenced you as a person
or made you think, and why?

11. Tell me about someone who has been a major influence on you as a
person / in your life?

12. What do you think was the greatest public health advance of the twentieth
century?

13. Can you describe an interesting place you have been to (not necessarily
medical) and explain why it was so?

14. Do you think putting a man on the moon money well spent? If yes - why? If
no - how would you have spent that money?

15. Tell me about a non-academic project or piece of organisation that you

were involved in. How did it go?

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16. If you had to have a gap year, and could go anywhere in the world or do
anything, what would you chose to do, and why?

17. How do you think the rise in information technology has influenced / will
influence the practice of medicine?

D - Team work
1. Thinking about your membership of a team (in a work, sport, school or
other setting), can you tell us about the most important contributions you
made to the team?

2. Can you think of a team situation where your communication skills have
been vital? Tell us about the situation and your contribution.

3. Tell us about a group activity you have organised. What went well and
what went badly? What did you learn from it?

4. Tell us about a team situation you have experienced. What did you learn
about yourself and about successful team-working?

5. When you think about yourself working as a doctor, who do you think will
be the most important people in the team you will be working with?

6. Who are the important members of a multi-disciplinary healthcare team?

Why?

7. Are you a leader or a follower?

8. What are the advantages and disadvantages of being in a team? Do

teams need leaders?

9. Modern day health care is very much a team effort. Please tell us a role
that you have played in a team, and what you think you contributed.

10. What do you think of nurses developing extended roles and undertaking
tasks previously done by doctors?

11. What do you think are the advantages and disadvantages of nurses
replacing doctors as the first contact person in primary care?

12. When you are a doctor you will be working in a team. Who do you see as
the key members of your team, and why? How will you help the team to
develop?

69
E - Personal Insight
1. What ways of working and studying have you developed that you think will
assist you through medical school? What will you need to improve?

2. How do you think you will cope with criticism from colleagues or other
health professionals?

3. Give us an example of something about which you used to hold strong

opinions, but have had to change your mind. What made you change?
What do you think now?

4. Have you ever been in a situation where you realise afterwards that what
you said or did was wrong? What did you do about it? What should you
have done?

5. How do you think you will avoid problems of keeping up to date during a
long career?

6. What are your outside interests and hobbies? How do these compliment
you as a person? Which do you think you will continue at university?

7. Tell us two personal qualities you have which would make you a good
doctor, and two personal shortcomings which you think you would like to
overcome as you become doctor?

8. Medical training is long and being a doctor can be stressful. Some doctors
who qualify never practice. What makes you think you will stick to it?

9. What do you think will be the most difficult things you might encounter
during your training? How will you deal with them?

10. What relevance to medicine are the ‘A’ levels (apart from biology and
chemistry) that you have been studying?

11. What skills do you think are needed in order to communicate with your
patients; how do you think they are best acquired?

12. Can you learn communication skills?

13. How have you developed your communication skills?

14. What interests do you bring from school/college life that you think will
contribute to your studies and practice?

15. What challenges do you think a career in medicine will bring you?

16. What do you think you will be the positive aspects and the negative
aspects of being a doctor? How will you handle these?

70
17. What attributes are necessary in a good doctor? Which do you have, and
which do you need to develop further?

18. Can you tell us about an interesting experience, and what you learned
from it about yourself?

19. Thinking about yourself: what characteristics do you think you would most
need to change in the course of becoming a good doctor?
20. If you could only tell me one thing about yourself, to help me to get a
sense of you as a person, what would it be and why?

21. If you could change two things about yourself, what would they be and
why?

22. What do you think are your priorities in your own personal development?
23. What qualities do you lack that would be useful for a doctor, and what do
you intend to do about this?

24. What qualities do you think other people value in you?

25. How do you think other people would describe you?

26. How will you cope with being criticised or even sued?

F - Understanding of the role of medicine in society

1. What is wrong with the NHS?

2. What problems are there in the NHS other than the lack if funding?

3. What relevance has the Hippocrates oath to modern-day medicine?

4. What would you prefer in a doctor? Bad communication skills with good
clinical skills or good communication skills with bad clinical skills? Why?

5. Would you argue that medicine is a science or an art, and why?

6. How do politics influence health care provision? Is it inevitable?

7. Why do you think we hear so much about doctors and the NHS in the
media today?

8. Do you think doctors should set a good example to their patients in their
own lives? How or why might this be difficult?

9. In what ways do you think doctors can promote good health, other than
direct treatment of illness?

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10. Do you think doctors and the NHS get a bad press, and if so, why?

11. From what you have read and found out, where do you see the health
service going?

12. What are the arguments for and against non-essential surgery being
available on the NHS?

13. What does the current government see as the national priorities in health
care? Do you agree with these?

14. How should the health service achieve a balance between promoting good
health, and in treating ill health?

15. What do you think are the similarities and differences between being a
doctor today and being a doctor 50 years ago?

16. Should doctors have a role in regulating contact sports, such as boxing?

17. Do you think doctors should ever strike?

18. Do you think patient’s treatments should be limited by the NHS budget or
do they have the right to new therapies no matter what the cost?

19. What does the term ‘inequalities in health’ mean to you?

20. Do you think medicine should be more about changing behaviour to

prevent disease or treating existing disease?

21. What do you think is the purpose of the health service in the 21st century?

22. What do you think are the chief difficulties faced by doctors in their work?

23. Why do you think people in the north of England live, on average, 5 years
less than those in the south? Do you think this should be a matter for
government intervention?

24. What are the arguments for and against people paying for their own health
care as and when they need it?

25. What do you understand by the term ‘holistic’ medicine? Do you think it
falls within the remit of the NHS?

26. How accurately do you think the media (particularly television) tend to
portray the role of the doctor?

27. Do you think the bulk of medical treatment takes place in hospital or in the
community? What makes you think this?

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28. What do you think about the way doctors are shown in the media, say in
the Simpsons or on the news? How do you think this will affect patients’
views of their own doctors?

29. What do you think is the greatest threat to the health of the British
population today?

30. Imagine you are on committee able to recommend only one of two new
surgical treatments to be made available through the NHS. The treatments
are: an artificial heart for babies born with heart defects, or a permanent
replacement hip for people with severe arthritis. Both treatments are
permanent, ie never need repeating, and are of equal cost. On what
grounds would you make your arguments?

31. Ten years ago most doctors in hospitals wore white coats; now few do.
Why do you think this is? What do you think are the arguments for and
against white coats?

32. Animals that are thought to be suffering are ‘put down’. Should human
suffering be treated in the same way?

33. Do you think more doctors or more nurses would be of greatest benefit to
the nation’s health?

34. What are the arguments for and against banning the sale of tobacco?

35. In the UK at present 60% of medical students are female. Do you think we
should have equal quotas for medical school places for males and
females? What do you think will be the consequences of having more
female doctors than male doctors?

36. What issues should be considered in deciding to terminate or not continue

a patient’s life-sustaining treatment?

37. Medicine will bring you into contact with a vast range of different people,
with different cultures; what experience have you had of different types of
people?

G - Work Experience
1. What experiences have given you insight into the world of medicine? What
have you learnt from these?

2. What aspect of your work experience did you find the most challenging,
and why?

3. In your work experience, what skills have you learnt that you can apply to
medicine?

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4. Can you give me an example of how you coped with a conflict with a
colleague or friend; what strategy did you use and why?

5. Reflect on what you have seen of hospitals or a health care environment.

What would you most like to organise differently, and why?

6. What aspect of your work experience would you recommend to a friend

thinking about medicine, and why?

7. What impressed you most about the doctors in your work experience?

8. Can you think of a situation where good communication has saved the day
and give a reason why?

9. Thinking of your work experience, can you tell me about a difficult situation
you have dealt with and what you learned from it?

10. Have you visited any friends or family in hospital, or had work experience
in a hospital? From these experiences, what did you see that you would
like to change?

11. Can you tell me the key things you learned from your work experience, in
caring or other settings?

12. What have you done on work experience/ in employment previously?

What would you change about what you saw, if you could, and how would
you set about this?

13. What do you think would be the advantages, and difficulties, for a person
with a major physical disability (e.g. blindness) wishing to become a
doctor?

14. Tell me about a project, or work experience, that you have organised, and
what you learned from it?

H - Tolerance of ambiguity
1. Is it better to give health care or aid to impoverished countries? What do
you think about the activities of the charity Medecins sans Frontieres?

2. Do you think we should find out more about patients’ views of their
doctors, their illness or their treatments? How would you set about this?

3. What do you think are the major sorts of problems facing a person with a
long-term health problem, such as difficulty breathing?

4. Why do you think it is that we cannot give a guarantee that a medical or

surgical procedure will be successful?

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5. What are the differences between length of life and quality of life?

6. Should alternative or complimentary medicine be funded by the NHS, and

why?

7. Should the NHS be involved in non-essential surgery?

8. Should the NHS fund the treatment of self-inflicted diseases?

9. How do you think doctors should treat injury or illness due to self-harm,
smoking or excess alcohol consumption?

10. Female infertility treatment is expensive, has a very low success rate and
is even less successful in smokers. To whom do you think it should be
available?

11. Would you prescribe the oral contraceptive pill to a 14-year old girl who is
sleeping with her boyfriend?

12. What is your feeling about euthanasia?

13. Would you perform abortions as a doctor? Under what conditions?

14. Is it right that Viagra should only be available to certain groups of men?

15. What do you think about the use of animals for testing new drugs?

16. How do you respond and what do you feel when you see a beggar in the
street?

17. You have one liver available for transplant, but two patients with equal
medical need. One is an ex-alcoholic mother with two young children, the
other a 13 year old with an inborn liver abnormality. How would you decide
to whom it should be given?

18. You have one dialysis machine to share between three patients with equal
medical need. One is a 17-year-old drug addict who has just overdosed,
one is a 40-year old woman with terminal breast cancer and only 6 months
of life expectancy, the third one is a 70-year old marathon runner. Who
gets the machine?

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Help me help you
I would like to keep this work as up to date and relevant as possible. If you
were asked a question in your interview which was not included in this book
and you think it should be then please let me know by emailing me at
Peter@[Link] so I can include it in future editions.

I am particularly interested in knowing the content of Current Multiple Mini

Interview stations in the UK & for a short time I will refund the purchase price
to candidates who advise me of this. (This offer can be withdrawn at any time
please get in touch if you want to know if it is still current). Thank you.

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