Advice & Insight From Interview Specialists
Hey there! If you’re reading this, you have probably secured a spot in an interview at the University of Aberdeen, congratulations! Let’s go through some tips and tricks on how to make the process as easy as possible.
Do some research on the features that make studying Medicine at Aberdeen unique and make sure you can debate in their favour; what are their pros and cons? Definitely mention the very modern Clinical Skills Centre or the opportunity to explore your interests with the Student Selected Components starting from your first year. Interested in rural medicine? At the university of Aberdeen, you can pick a “Remote and Rural option” and spend all clinical blocks in fourth year in Inverness.
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When facing a question about how you cope with stressful situations, it is very important that you reflect on your previous experiences. If you do this before getting to the interview, it will make your life much easier on the day! It’s always a good idea to try and integrate an anecdote from your work experience, to show that you know something about stress-inducing circumstances in the healthcare system. If you struggle to give structure to your answers about past experiences, try the STAR system (S ituation,T ask, A ction, R esult). The examiners want to see self-reflection, so make sure you explore your weaknesses and strengths in how you dealt with the situation. Be aware that they might also ask you to show first-hand your stress coping abilities by involving you in a challenging role play scenario.
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Make sure you prepare to talk about how the NHS works; such as what primary, secondary and tertiary care are. These bits of information will be useful to you, not only in a dedicated station but also throughout the entirety of the interview at Aberdeen. If you are from the UK, think about your previous experiences in healthcare (even as a patient!) and be able to critically evaluate it. If you’re an International or European applicant, be able to compare and contrast the NHS to your own health system. They’re not asking you to take sides; the examiner is trying to gather your understanding and awareness of healthcare globally.
Don’t be surprised if one of the stations is about “real” Medicine! They might give you a real-life healthcare scenario (e.g. “this patient’s heart is beating very fast” or “this patient is feeling dizzy”) and ask you how you would proceed. The examiner does not expect you to have any in-depth knowledge about concepts that you haven’t been taught but they are interested in seeing how you think in a clinical context, despite not having much background. Don’t get too hung up on mentioning something that isn’t relevant and consider your differentials (possible diagnoses) and management options. Don’t dive in head first and only think about extreme scenarios (some rare condition you read about once) but consider the basics, too.
Don’t forget to revise your basics before your interview! Do you know what the General Medical Council is and what its role is? Do you remember your medical ethics pillars and would you be able to discuss them in a scenario? If you’re asked to prioritise courses of action in an ethically challenging situation remember to discuss your options while mentioning Beneficence, Non- maleficence, Justice and Autonomy.
If you prepare in advance, interview day at the University of Aberdeen will hopefully be much more manageable and you might even have fun and learn something new! Remember some generic advice about MMIs (don’t get hung up on a bad station, be confident and clear when communicating, listen carefully for every detail in the questions and scenarios) and give it your best shot.
Good luck!
