The interview at Des Moines is designed to be holistic and follows a ‘Kira Talent assessment’ in which students are given a question and a set amount of time in which to respond, at their own pace.
The Des Moines interview is constructed as a ‘small group experience’ – it allows students to share information about themselves and engage in discussion with Des Moines clinicians and academics.
500+ Questions, Model Answers with Expert Techniques & Simulated Interview Circuits
Mock Interviews, Personalised Feedback & Support From Your Own Interview Specialist.
20+ Interview Stations & Expert Feedback. Taught By Medical School Interview Specialists.
Applications open on May 3rd, with competitive applicants being invited to interview throughout August to March on a rolling basis. The AACOMAS application deadline is March 1st, although applicants are encouraged to submit any materials well in advance in order to be best considered. Orientation and class will begin in late July.
Motivation and Insight into Medicine
Tell me about your research interests and the research that you have conducted so far.
What was your most difficult course in college?
Why medicine and why DO?
What is the most surprising thing you learned from your time shadowing?
What has surprised you about medicine?
Why do you want to become a physician and specifically why choose osteopathic medicine?
Why DO instead of MD?
What is one specific thing you learned from each of the doctors you shadowed?
What is one thing you would change in the health-care industry today?
How did you study for the MCAT differently since your second score is significantly better than the first?
What do you know about the history of osteopathic medicine?
Should politicians be allowed to determine health care policy or should it be left up to physicians?
How do you plan to excel in medical school courses?
What is something about medicine that makes you not want to enter the field?
Learn the best interview strategies and practice with past interview questions & model answers.
Ethical Dilemmas
Choose a controversial ethical issue in medicine today and explain your position on it.
Is there a time where you witnessed a physician interacting with a patient in a manner you believed to be unprofessional?
Communication Stations​
How do you deal with conflict?
Tell us about a time when you interacted with people who held different views than you did.
Tell me about a time that you received feedback from a manager that you did not necessarily agree with.
Tell me about a time when you had to have an uncomfortable conversation with someone. How did it turn out?
Teamwork Tasks
Tell me about a time where you worked in a team to overcome an obstacle.
Name a time you worked with a team and experienced difficulty.
Tell me about a time you worked on a team.
Tell me about a time you worked in a group and it did not go smoothly.
Name a time when you being responsible helped others.
Explain a time that you disagreed with a directive and how you responded to that.
What leadership roles have you had and how have they impacted you?
Tell me about a time when you did not get along with a peer or co-worker. How did you overcome this?
General / Personal Statements
Tell me more about your unusual major.
A variety of questions about the personal statement, including exact word choice and meaning.
What do you like to do in your free time not related to academics, medicine, or research?
What do you have to offer DMU?
Are you a compassionate person? How will classes such as art appreciation benefit you as a future physician?
What would you do if you were struggling in a class in medical school?
If I asked your friends to describe to me your strengths and weaknesses, what would they say?
What was the most exciting/interesting thing from your tour of the school?
Tell me more about a specific experience on your application.
Tell me about a time when you did everything you could and the outcome was still a failure.
How did you use your Emotional Intelligence on the mission trip you went on?
Describe a situation where you made a mistake and what occurred after.
Where do you see yourself in 25 years?
Name a time when you caught a small problem and fixed it before the problem became larger.
What would someone who likes you say about you? What would someone who dislikes you say about you?
How have you handled difficulties in the past?
You can’t always be successful. Name a time when you failed and how you reacted.
Name a problem in the United States not related to medicine that will affect you as a physician.
