Medical School Interview: Work Experience

Any work experience question should be seen as an attempt to probe your insight and motivation into the field of Medicine. You should therefore avoid giving a simplistic answer that focuses only on a process or therapy you saw, and instead you should look to reflect on what you learned about both medicine and yourself. Let’s take an example question and see how one might answer it:

‘What parts of your work experience did you enjoy the most?’

A poor answer might be as follows:

‘I really enjoyed shadowing an orthopaedic surgeon, as I was able to see two interesting operations – a hip replacement and the treatment of a patella that was causing the patient pain. Both were really high-paced, and the atmosphere in the operating theatre was exciting.’

Note that this student fails to expand on the meaning of what they have seen, or how it might affect them and their desire to study Medicine. They provide some detail of the operations, but this doesn’t make their answer any stronger. Likewise, words like ‘interesting’ or ‘exciting’ will not furnish your interviewer with any idea of your strengths or personality, or show that you have truly considered what you saw.

A good answer might be:

‘Whilst I didn’t expect it to be a highlight, I found the oncology MDT meetings that I was able to attend to be the most enjoyable part of my experience. The level of communication between both doctors and other healthcare professionals, the manner in which each was able to show their expertise and explain this expertise to others in a way that they could understand, and the clear empathy shown to the patient – even though they were not there – throughout the meeting reinforced what attracts me to Medicine. That is, the chance to become an expert, an able communicator, a teacher, and someone who founds their practice on empathy.’
 
This answer highlights something slightly less ‘run-of-the-mill’ – an MDT meeting. It then goes on to examine exactly why the experience was interesting, rather than simply stating that it was – communication, expertise easily explained, and empathy. We can then understand that each of these factors has been considered by the student, and that each is important in their own desire to study Medicine. This seems a mature answer from someone who has given true thought to their career choice.

Therefore, when answering consider: what motivates you to study Medicine? What have you seen that illustrates those desires? How can you connect your desire to your experiences and reflect on them? If possible, try to include correct terminology and phrases as well – speaking like a medical student will illustrate the extent to which you have already researched the field.