Future Doctors: Medical School Interview Guide

By Ankit Sinha

This book is intended to help students, graduates, and mature and international applicants prepare for medical school admissions. We use our combined wealth of experience to offer specific, personal guidance to help YOU maximise your application’s chance of SUCCESS.
We detail the basics and little-known tips and tricks for EACH STEP of the application process to allow you to take full advantage of your existing and future experiences.
THE INTERVIEW can seem like the largest hurdle of the medical school application. However, we have analysed common questions across all universities and interview formats, and structured our findings into distinct categories, each given with STRUCTURES to help you best recognise and tackle them.
We help you make the strongest application possible with specific, personal guidance to fully display the strengths of your experiences and personality.
In this book we discuss:
- THE IDEAL APPLICANT: what medical schools look for in applicants
- BEFORE THE INTERVIEW: how to best prepare your application
- IMPORTANT HEALTH TOPICS: background information to make you stand out
- COMMON DISEASES: diseases you should be aware of
- MEDICAL ETHICS: how to approach any ethical scenario
- INTERVIEW SKILLS: how to give the best performance at interviews
- INTERVIEW DAY: how to plan for the day
- GENERAL INTERVIEW QUESTIONS: the common questions you will face
- MULTIPLE MINI-INTERVIEWS: how to specifically deal with multiple mini-interviews
- DEFERRED ENTRY/GAP YEAR, GRADUATE AND INTERNATIONAL APPLICANTS: information specific to each group and how to maximise the strength of their application
- OXBRIDGE ADMISSIONS: specific preparation for the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Austin Macauley Publishers
• Release date: Jun 30, 2021
• ISBN: 9781528997317

Ankit Sinha

Mr CK Sinha is a consultant paediatric surgeon in London and an established, world-renowned author. He has published and edited over 16 books and 125 articles in journals, books, and abstracts. One of his most popular books, Handbook of Paediatric Surgery published by Springer, London-New York, received the British Medical Association Book Appreciation Award 2010 and has been downloaded over 1.6 million times. He is an experienced interviewer in medical school admissions, a trainer at the Royal College of Surgeons of England and Edinburgh, and a professor of paediatric surgery. He also leads the SARP medical school admission interview courses to great success. Dr Ankit Sinha was a medical student at University College London, UK, and has vast experience in the interviews and selection process for medical students. He has carried out research into functional photoacoustic spectroscopy and through this, has gained a BSc (Hons) in medical sciences with medical physics and bioengineering from University College London. His commitment to research is exemplified by his publications and presentations looking into medical student education. He has pursued his interest in education by setting up programmes to promote access to medicine and is the director for SARP medical school interview courses. The authors are fortunate to have received contributions from numerous talented individuals (doctors and medical students) across a wide range of academic and medical institutions, both nationally and internationally.

Book preview

About the Authors

Mr CK Sinha is a consultant paediatric surgeon in London and an established, world-renowned author. He has published and edited over 16 books and 125 articles in journals, books, and abstracts. One of his most popular books, Handbook of Paediatric Surgery published by Springer, London-New York, received the British Medical Association Book Appreciation Award 2010 and has been downloaded over 1.6 million times. He is an experienced interviewer in medical school admissions, a trainer at the Royal College of Surgeons of England and Edinburgh, and a professor of paediatric surgery. He also leads the SARP medical school admission interview courses to great success.

Dr Ankit Sinha was a medical student at University College London, UK, and has vast experience in the interviews and selection process for medical students. He has carried out research into functional photoacoustic spectroscopy and through this, has gained a BSc (Hons) in medical sciences with medical physics and bioengineering from University College London. His commitment to research is exemplified by his publications and presentations looking into medical student education. He has pursued his interest in education by setting up programmes to promote access to medicine and is the director for SARP medical school interview courses.

The authors are fortunate to have received contributions from numerous talented individuals (doctors and medical students) across a wide range of academic and medical institutions, both nationally and internationally.

Copyright Information ©

Ankit Sinha and CK Sinha (2021)

The right of Ankit Sinha and CK Sinha to be identified as authors of this work has been asserted by them in accordance with section 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publishers.

Any person who commits any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

A CIP catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library.

ISBN 9781528997300 (Paperback)

ISBN 9781528997317 (ePub e-book)

www.austinmacauley.com

First Published (2021)

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FUTURE DOCTORS

Dr Ankit Sinha

BSc (Hons), MBBS

University College London Medical School

University College London

Gower Street, London

WC1E 6BT, UK

Professor CK Sinha

FRCS (England), FRCS (Edinburgh), FRCS (Ireland),

MCh, MS, DA, MBBS (Hons)

Consultant Paediatric Surgeon

St George’s University Hospital, London

SW17 0QT, UK

Honorary Professor, AIIMS, India

Co-Authors

Dr Aleena Dhanji – St George’s, University of London

Dr Amal Thomas – St George’s, University of London

Anush Shashidhara – University College London Medical School

Dr Emily Rye – St George’s, University of London

Dr Graham Garside – St George’s, University of London

Jana Bawazir – St George’s, University of London

Krishan Lodhia – King’s College London School of Medical Education

Dr Oliver Curwen – St George’s, University of London

Qudsiyah-Bano Agha-Shah – University College London Medical School

Dr Sewita Nazari – St George’s, University of London

Suchika Garg – University College London Medical School

Dr Suzzan Sithirangathan – St George’s, University of London

Taranveer Sandhu – University College London Medical School

Thonmoy Josh Dey – University College London Medical School

Vinit Vykuntam – University of Cambridge School of Clinical Medicine

Yiorgos A. Stathopoulos – University College London Medical School

Dr Leena Sinha – Princess Alexandra Hospital, Harlow

Dr Masih Kader – Detroit Medical Centre and Michigan State University, Michigan

Mr Sanjay Sinha – Oxford University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, Oxford

Professor Mark Davenport – King’s College Hospital, London

We discuss and practise more questions and answers, as well as give you opportunities to refine your interview performance on our One-Day Interview Courses. It includes exposure to MMIs and intensive ‘one-to-one’ interview practice sessions, with the course personalised to the types of interviews you will be facing and for the universities you have applied for.

For further details,

Email [e-mail]

or visit www.medicalinterviewcourse.co.uk>

Preface

The most important step in preparation for the Medical School application process is starting early. This book gives you information about the whole process right from beginning to end. It should be a companion for each aspect of your application process, from deciding whether Medicine is the course for you, to what to do on the interview day and beyond. In the earlier phases, we will show you how to set yourself up for success and how best to prepare for the pre-interview stages: finding work experience placements, writing your personal statement, choosing which universities to apply to, preparation for pre-application exams, and examples of useful reading materials.

The interview can be an especially daunting aspect of the application process. As it is so important to most universities, we have focused on every aspect of the interview to provide structured guidance. The questions that can be asked are varied and can confuse candidates. However, we highlight how many questions have a similar pattern of answers and show these through worked examples, as well as detailing what the interviewers are expecting from you.

Our goal is to allow you to get to the interview stage through the strength of your application, and then have the confidence to be yourself, and answer questions honestly and effectively in the interview.

We help you make the strongest case by fully reflecting the strengths of your personality.

This book is intended for students, graduates, and mature applicants around the world, preparing for UK Medical School admission, and is meant to act as an equaliser for all students of all backgrounds applying to this course. We provide a comprehensive, step-by-step guide through the entire application, outline important information and resources students should know, and provide clear, detailed guidance on how to approach each step. We do this to ensure any applicant, with whatever level of support they may have received, from any background, from anywhere in the world, can enjoy success from the strength of their performance. To do this, we use our wealth of combined experience to offer guidance that is specific and personal to your experiences.

By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.

– Benjamin Franklin

Best wishes and good luck!

Ankit Sinha

CK Sinha

Introduction

A patient with multiple trauma is brought into Accident and Emergency after a road traffic accident. The identity of the patient is unknown and there is no one with them that can tell you what happened before the accident. The emergency call for the resuscitation team has already gone out but they have not arrived yet. You are the first doctor to see this patient.

This is a common scenario that brings into sharp focus the essence of being a doctor. It highlights first and foremost the trust the public places in you to see them at their most vulnerable and the responsibility that level of trust demands. As a doctor, you are privileged to be given a level of access to a relative stranger’s life that is unprecedented normally, with the hope that your extensive knowledge, training, and experience will allow you to ease their burdens, be it physical, psychological or social. Therefore, it cannot be overstated that your presence, composure, competence, and character can genuinely be the difference between life and death.

For the patient above, basic life support would be started after a brief assessment, which consists of chest compressions and rescue breaths. Unlike the version of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) you may have seen on TV or in movies, the real thing is demanding, intense, and often unpleasant to witness. Before you can start CPR, you may need to remove their jacket, which the paramedic may cut for you. Then while performing CPR, you may need someone to provide the rescue breaths to minimise the pause of the chest compressions. The nurse may be working around you to place monitoring pads on the patient’s chest or performing observations that will be useful in later management. When help arrives, you must clearly and concisely convey the situation and your impression of it. You may need to take charge of a large and varied group of medical staff, organising roles, managing tasks as well as coordinating the information and ideas that fly around. You may have to follow instructions from a senior member of the team, doing so efficiently and with alacrity. The patient’s family arrives and it may be your job to talk with them, explain the situation and reassure or caution them about the patient’s condition while offering support. You may get the patient’s history from the family, asking about risk factors or medical conditions that could have caused the crash. You are asked to administer a drug but you are unsure of the dosage, so you ask the nurse for help and make a note to revise it later.

This short scenario neatly conveys the qualities of a doctor, and why they are necessary. Providing care is always a team effort and being able to work effectively in a team is essential to providing the best care you can. Equally, it is important to recognise your limitations and be able to ask for help (for example when you do not know a drug dosage). It is not possible, nor is it expected, for anyone to know everything. Being able to employ the combined knowledge of the team, recognising your shortcomings, asking for help to neutralise these, and having the curiosity and drive to improve yourself are essential. Approaching your role with the appropriate responsibility is another fundamental aspect of being a doctor. It means you recognise that you are capable of helping those who are most in need and always act in the best interests of your patients. This may mean leading management of a case you are knowledgeable about (for example leading a ‘crash call’ for a patient under your care), or following advice and instruction from others (for example learning surgical techniques for the first time). This element of being a good leader and follower is vital in the multidisciplinary, team-based approach to care in the NHS.

The social interaction inherent in medicine reveals compassion, empathy, and tolerance to be essential in practising as a doctor. You are going to be engaging with patients, their families, and their friends, and often their worry about each other’s health and wellbeing can be a source of stress. Therefore being able to empathise with them and understanding their ideas, concerns and expectations, means you can better address them, and be more effective in your role. Having to break bad news in scenarios like the one above is often emotionally taxing on the doctor as well as the patients, but showing empathy towards your patients’ difficulties and dedication to their management ensures you are heard and that you, the patient, and their loved ones are on the same side.

It is these qualities that exemplify the ‘Future Doctor’. Therefore, it is these qualities we show you how to develop, how to describe in your application and how to embody at your interview.

A Note on the COVID-19 Pandemic: The pandemic and the resulting restrictions led to significant changes during the preparation and admissions stages for thousands of applicants, from affecting work experience opportunities to changing interview formats to be held virtually. It is unclear whether these changes represent the new standard or if they are temporary. However, the information we provide remains applicable across all formats and for all scenarios. We have added relevant insight in the appropriate chapters about the best approach in the new post-COVID environment.

Your Aim:

You have to show the interviewers that you have all the qualities required to complete the medicine course and become a good doctor by describing and demonstrating them at the interview. For this, it is vital that you listen to the questions carefully, take some time to think about answers, and remain attentive and spirited throughout the process. At the same time, you have to accept that no one is going to have a perfect experience. No one gives a perfect performance, just as there is no perfect interviewer and no perfect answer. The objective is to give your best and show earnestly the desire to study Medicine, and the capability to be able to do so.

However, there is no doubt; time spent preparing is time well spent. This does not mean memorising fact after the fact! Rather, it is more about knowing enough about topics to be able to justify your answers with facts, as well as personal experiences. So, think about the criteria which support your judgments (as well as alternative points of view, and why you have not chosen them), and get familiar with your views and values. Take confidence from the fact that you have gained an interview, showing you have the ability to obtain a place, and from the preparation that will put you in the strongest position possible for the interview.

By staying updated with medical issues as they develop, reading relevant scientific articles and NHS (National Health Service) reports to further your interests, and having experienced aspects of the medical field for yourself, you demonstrate the qualities of enthusiasm and curiosity, which the interviewers are keen to explore in candidates for Medical Schools.

With our wide experience and intense research in this field, we have been able to classify hundreds of interview questions into 5 types in this book. We have also developed answer structures for each type, allowing students to prepare for general styles and topics of questioning rather than for each possible individual question.

We have also included specific chapters dedicated to tackling the slight differences with Graduate Entry to Medicine, International Applications to UK, and a dedicated section to clarifying Oxbridge (Universities of Oxford and Cambridge) interviews.

Chapter 1

The Ideal Applicant

Medicine is a stimulating and rapidly developing field, which provides variety and new challenges to medical students and doctors every day. It offers a broad range of careers, from General Practice to super-specialisation, and provides an enormous opportunity for research and innovations. As a result, it attracts many aspirants with, unfortunately, limited places available.

There is no such thing as a definitive ‘Ideal Applicant’. Each applicant will be different and will bring different strengths, weaknesses and experiences with them. Strong candidates should have, and be able to demonstrate, their commitment and enthusiasm for Medicine. They should be able to discuss examples of when they have seen important qualities such as empathy, effective communication, teamwork and leadership in use, and also how they have developed them. You should have the aptitude to not only pursue, but succeed in Medicine, and show you have the social awareness to be an effective doctor. Social awareness is particularly important as it shows you are interested in Medicine beyond just the application and have been keeping up with recent events in the field. A realistic understanding of what pursuing Medicine entails is also vital, and many Medical Schools are looking for candidates with appropriate clinical work experience that show they have explored their chosen subject. Applicants should be aware of the course and teaching types offered by their chosen Medical Schools and should be able to support their decision when asked: Why this Medical School?.

Remember that Medicine is a demanding and challenging career, which requires lifelong learning. It also requires commitment, dedication, hard work and a high standard of professionalism and personal conduct.

The purpose of the Medical School entry process is to ensure the most suited individuals are allowed access to a highly responsible and sensitive course and career. Medical Schools consider your application on two fronts:

Academic

Non-academic

Your academic aspect is assessed through

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Achievements in formal examinations (e.g. A-Level, GCSEs and UCAT/BMAT scores)

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Your research and super-curricular activities: during the interview process, one of the aims of the interviewers is to assess applicants for their interest and factual knowledge about Medicine, and to see how candidates have explored their chosen field. They can also ask you to apply concepts, such as ethical principles to scenarios, and ask you to make decisions based on them. These will be covered later, but the more you have researched around Medicine, ethical cases and recent medical events, the stronger your position will be when faced with questions like these.

Your non-academic aspect is assessed through:

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A wide range of extra-curricular interests.

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Showing you can handle stressful situations effectively.

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Showing motivation and dedication towards pursuing a medical career.

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Behaving appropriately as a future doctor.

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Showing you have the qualities necessary to be a good doctor (explained in the ‘Good Medical Practice’ document from the GMC).

Academic Aspect

As Medicine is highly demanding and requires the combined use of many subjects of study, it has a high academic threshold for entry. Importantly, COVID-19 has highlighted the importance of mock exams and the influence they can have on the final grades. As such, it is advisable to approach them with the same care as the real thing.

GCSEs (Or Equivalent)

Starting with GCSEs, minimum requirements and the competitive reality may be different. GCSEs tend to bear less focus in comparison to A-Levels, and as a result, the minimum requirements are usually based on doing well in English, Maths, and the Sciences. Meeting these criteria means your application will not be rejected at this stage of consideration. The reality of successful applicants’ GCSEs can be very different from these minimum requirements. There is obviously a range, with some students with no grades at 8 or 9 (A* with the old assessment system) have been successful, while others have been rejected despite having all top grades. Most universities will look at your application as a whole when considering it.

A-Levels (Or Equivalent)

We have used the A-levels to denote the higher examinations throughout the book as they are the ones most commonly taken.

Nearly all universities require Chemistry to a higher level, and find Biology either highly desirable or necessary as well. You may find this a little odd, as surely Biology has more to do with Medicine than Chemistry would? Although arguably true, there is a significant amount of chemistry knowledge required for the biochemistry aspects of the course, and universities feel the challenge of A-Level Chemistry most accurately assesses students’ academic ability. The other A-Level subjects are usually up to the student, but having three science subjects at AS level usually opens the door to most universities (if you have chosen where to apply to, check the university requirements individually on their websites). Offers can start at AAB and progress upwards from there. They can also depend on the number of subjects you have chosen, and whether you are undertaking any additional projects, such as the Extended Project Qualification (EPQ). Offers can include all of these, and they can be specific in the subjects you must achieve the grades in.

Admissions Tests

The admissions tests are designed to demonstrate your aptitude for Medicine. Scoring highly on these is a significant step towards entering Medical School, and can be a significant barrier to many applicants. The requirements for these results can be found individually on university websites. The admissions tests are the UCAT, BMAT and GAMSAT.

There is a suggestion that preparation is not very helpful towards achieving a high score in these. We have found that this is not the case, and that consistent practise and familiarising yourself with the structure and content of the exams helps applicants a great deal. This is sometimes overlooked for the UCAT, as it is a non-traditional assessment taken over two hours on a computer, and involves verbal, quantitative, and abstract reasoning, situational judgment, and decision making; but the benefits of preparation may still be seen in the confidence students face it with.

There are many online and published resources specifically aimed at giving tips about how to answer certain types of questions and providing example questions for practice. Make use of such resources, but ensure they are recent and have been updated to include any recent additions or changes. The BMAT and GAMSAT are similar in their content and are relatively easier to prepare for. They both cover data and argument analysis, assessment of scientific knowledge, and essay writing. Each of these aspects can be practised. As some students may have taken all science A-Levels, it may have been over a year since you wrote an essay. You do not want to write your actual exam essay while out of practice. A similar scenario can occur with any of the Sciences or Maths. These questions may be asked, but students may not have taken the subject at A-Level and may have forgotten material from GCSE. Practise BMAT and GAMSAT questions are available through resources like those available for the UCAT, and practise essay questions can help raise your writing speed and research topics that may come up in the exam.

We have discussed the preparation methods, and individual approaches to each of these in the Before the Interview chapter, under Admissions Tests.

Research and Supercurricular Activities

Researching the medical field should be considered part of your application preparation, as work experience or admissions tests are. It is vital to both you and the Medical School that you are aware of what lies ahead of you, and are dedicated to the goal of becoming a doctor. Supercurricular activities pair nicely with this, as they show universities you are pursuing your interests outside of school or college. We have provided a strong foundation for your research in the Important Health Topics, and Common Diseases chapters, as well as a section dedicated to Supercurricular Activities in the Before the Interview chapter. These chapters provide a general sense of what can be done to prepare, but there is plenty of scope beyond that to demonstrate your commitment and interest towards Medicine. Although it is not possible to know every aspect of Medicine, it is important to show the effort has been made.

Non-Academic Aspect

The non-academic aspects of your application are as important as your academic ones. This is because practising Medicine is not just a scientific endeavour. In fact, much of the work a doctor does involve discussing with and explaining things to people. For example, knowing all the possible causes of a symptom is not very helpful if you cannot get the patient to accurately describe the symptom to you. While the academic aspects will make you a knowledgeable doctor, the non-academic aspects will ensure you are an effective one.

A Wide Range of Interests

Having interests beyond your studies is important to your wellbeing, as it prevents you from burning out. There is truth to the saying All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy, and it is also something that can benefit you in your journey to Medical School. Having interests in sport, music, art, clubs or schemes such as the Duke of Edinburgh Awards, all give your application depth and show you are a three-dimensional applicant, not just a successful exam taker. Having a range of interests also allows you to show you have excellent organisational and time management skills to maintain these interests while keeping up your academic pursuits.

Commitment to Medicine

Showing your commitment to Medicine is probably the most important part of the non-academic aspect of your application. This is done through your work experience or volunteering and can show your enthusiasm to be a part of a clinical environment. Applicants who have had exposure to a clinical setting are generally better informed about clinical requirements than someone who has not. Although Medical Schools do recognise that it can be exceedingly difficult to obtain a work placement at a hospital or GP surgery, remember that they are not the only clinical environments available to you. These alternatives are detailed in the Before the Interview chapter.

Stress Management

Regardless of whether you have experienced work in a clinical or non-clinical setting, many lessons can be learnt from either. An important one is to do with stress. Medicine is a hugely rewarding career path, but where there is a responsibility there will also be stress, and you are given a lot of responsibility in Medicine. As a result, stress is inevitable in daily life, and therefore it is important that students pursuing Medicine understand how to effectively deal with it. It is especially important in Medicine, as stress can lead to impaired judgment and mistakes affecting patients’ lives. You may talk about a hobby you have that you have found is a good method for stress relief, such as a sport or playing an instrument, or you could refer to your work placements or volunteering and discuss a difficult patient/customer/colleague you had, how you dealt with that stressful situation, and what you learnt from it. This has been discussed further in Qualities of a Doctor in General Interview Questions.

Appropriate Behaviour

A natural extension from how you deal with difficult people is how you deal with people in general. In return for the trust placed in doctors’ hands by patients, doctors are expected to behave professionally and to not do anything that would break that trust. You will find, as a medical student, this code of conduct extends to you as you will be a representative of the field. Showing you know how to conduct yourself appropriately goes a long way towards convincing Medical Schools you have the maturity to pursue Medicine.

Qualities of a Doctor

There are many qualities a doctor must have, and even more that a doctor should have. As must be clear to you by now, Medicine is a course that demands applicants with the right academic ability but, perhaps more importantly, the right attitude. The applicant’s personality is so important to universities that it is incorporated into the UCAT as the Situational Judgement Test (SJT). Medical Schools may automatically reject any applicants who perform poorly in the SJT. The basis of many questions at the interview and in the SJT are based on the ‘Good Medical Practice’ document published by the General Medical Council (GMC), which is the regulatory and disciplinary body for doctors. This is a very important document and can be a strong piece of evidence for a lot of your answers, so we have included it early. It gives details on how doctors are expected to behave, and the ‘Duties of a Doctor’ section describes what qualities a doctor should have, what behaviour you should aim for, and what healthcare workers’ priorities should be. We have discussed this further in Roles of a Doctor and Qualities of a Doctor, in the General Interview Questions chapter.

The Duties of a Doctor Registered with the General Medical Council:

‘Good Medical Practice’ (2013): Taken from GMC website

Patients must be able to trust doctors with their lives and health. To justify that trust, you must show respect for human life and make sure your practice meets the standards expected of you in four domains.

Domain 1: Knowledge, Skills and Performance

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Make the care of your patient your first concern.

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Provide a good standard of practice and care.

Keep your professional knowledge and skills up to date.

Recognise and work within the limits of your competence.

Domain 2: Safety and Quality

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Take prompt action if you think that patient safety, dignity or comfort is being compromised.

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Protect and promote the health of patients and the public.

Domain 3: Communication, Partnership and