Suppose the year 2022 marks the beginning of your medical career. In that case, we are confident that you have invested an ample amount of time preferencing medical universities that best align with your interests and have received your GAMSAT score.
Considering the stress and anxiety that you have encountered in the past few months, we are here to do some serious thinking, in order to provide a medical school interview timeframe for you to use.
The next obvious step is to dedicate your time for medical interview prep. Our previous articles have exclusively discussed 'Why medical interviews are super important?' and have also gone further to establish a consolidated guide on ‘5 Common mistakes to avoid in medical interview’.
Therefore, we are here to provide a medical school interviews timeline consisting of - 'How to prepare for a medical interview?', Medical interviews questions and answers, and Medical interview tips. However, the most fundamental aspect of medical interview preparation that we will focus on is 'How long does it take for a medical interview prep?'
Alternatively, check out some of the best med school interview prep courses available on the Fraser's Interview website!
Medical School Interview Prep
The purpose of medical school interviews is to evaluate a student's ability to handle scenarios similar to a hospital environment, and be a professional. And if most of you are pondering over, 'When should I expect my medical school interview?' Well, it is safe to say that med school interview offers are approaching sooner than anticipated.
The medical school interview dates 2021 are estimated to release medical interview offers in early September for medicine commencement in 2022. Considering that, there are a couple of solid months to prepare for your medical school interview, and we think that creating a timeline for your interview preparation is essential.
To establish this, the first task is to realise your interview strengths and weaknesses. You may be a naturally good speaker, with exceptional communication skills. At the same time, you may have sound knowledge around medical subject matter. However, you may also feel socially awkward and anxious when your skills are tested in an interview environment. This is exceedingly common, and nothing to be ashamed of, but should prompt you to improve with targeted strategies and tuition.
Things To Know For Med School Interview
Medical school interview questions in Australia often focus on your understanding of rural and remote communities health, development around Indigenous safety issues, medical and ethical scenarios, and your motivation towards pursuing medicine. Though the types of questions may vary in terms of comprehension, the overall essence of the med interview is to determine an applicant's interests and knowledge in medicine.
Some of the hardest medical school interview questions can be directed towards your understanding of ethical scenarios, policies, and communicating difficult concepts to people who are not from that background. In such a context, a combination of effective communication supported by well-researched knowledge around medical policies and ethical scenarios will grab the attention of the medical interviewer.
In summation, the best strategy to employ while kick starting your med interview preparation is:
- Understanding how to portray yourself during the medical interview. Choose what you wish to wear to a medical interview
- Work on your confidence and perfecting your interview tone
- Give a precise answer to interview questions. Support your interview solutions by providing interesting anecdotes, and other examples from your experiences
- Practice multiple questions under time constraints
- Have a general knowledge of current health issues, rural and Indigenous health and the specific university courses.
- Constantly attempt mock interviews, receive your scores, and discuss methods to improve with a friend or tutor.
Medical Interview Questions And Tips
Every applicant's answer to a medical interview question will vary profoundly, and this is primarily dependent on the type of individual you are. However, though responses can differ, medical interview solutions can be categorised as strong or weak answers. It is best to give firm and robust answers to all the med interview questions to receive a competitive score.
If you are applying to a medical school that has adopted an MMI format of med school interview, your preparation strategy must differ from the traditional panel interviews.
Usually, evaluators in an MMI or panel interview can come from various walks of life, such as professors, active medical practitioners, or other individuals from different areas of study. However, as we have widely discussed in various articles, you will notice that the way an applicant is scored differs in both interview styles. In short, in a Multiple Mini Interview, you will meet a new interviewer at each MMI station that is graded as objectively as possible.
Your medical interview preparation must focus on developing specific skills to ace in an MMI or a panel interview. Start by watching tutorials and videos on how to approach an MMI station. Try to understand how each MMI station works, types of commonly asked med interview questions, and remember that you will approximately spend 7-8 minutes at each station depending on the university that you are interviewing at. At Fraser’s, we think the best way to prep for an MMI is to attend mock interviews, where you run stations one-after-another to get the overall essence of MMI environments.
Similarly, for a panel interview, the focus must be towards building a rapport with the entire panel. Direct your attention towards providing well-articulated answers and avoid focusing too much on one individual in the panel.
How Long To Prepare For A Medical School Interview?
It would be best if you prepared for a medical school interview efficiently and productively. The only way to master medical interviews is by constantly practising different prompts to different styles of question under time. You could achieve a good interview score if your prep involved attempting a range of questions relating to medicine, personal questions, and ethical scenarios that pushed you to sound more confident and reliable each time.
Therefore, regarding how long medical school interviews preparation must be, it is safe to say that most successful medical aspirants take approximately 8-12 weeks to prepare for a medical school interview. In fact, we have a success rate of 90% amongst students that have reached out to us for medical school questions, tips and preparation.
As mentioned earlier, some students may have inherent interview skills, while some may need more time to master the skills required for medical interviews. Whether an MMI or a panel interview, it is best to begin your preparation journey much ahead in time to avoid surprises at the last minute.
It is close to impossible to go to a medical school interview without prep. There is no such thing as 'I can wing it'. Advance preparation is the key to succeeding at a medical interview.
At Fraser's Interview Training, we have over 300+ tutors, including most that have faced the medical interview first hand. We offer carefully tailored courses to prepare our students for their medical interview. Our courses allow students to sit through multiple mock interviews, receive constructive criticism from experts, and score behind medical school interviews.
What To Read Next?
Now that you have read how long you should spend on your medical interview preparation, check out our Medical Interview Prep Website that offers a range of courses to help you ace your med interview.
What does it include:
- Live Interview Workshop
- 1 x University-specific Mock Interviews
- Money-Back Guarantee
Our interview courses are also designed with utmost attention to cater to students and their specific requirements to perform during a medical interview. Therefore, if you have poor communication skills or lack medical knowledge or are naturally anxious during medical interviews, we are here to guide you step-by-step.
Alternatively, check out a range of Tools we offer:
Want to know more about our FREE Resources - check out the Free Online Atlas. It provides a range of longer courses, free guides, webinars, tests and model answers to assist individual students.
Don't forget to visit Fraser's website to access a range of Free Resources, Tools & courses!
