Getting into medical school is not an easy task – not even in the slightest. It takes a lot of hard work and preparation – years of it to be precise. Getting into medical school without any prior experience or knowledge is doable, but not probable.
The first step towards getting into medical school would be passing the medical interview. That begs the question, if you have all the necessary knowledge and prior experience – should you prepare for this interview or should you just wing it?
Word of advice – never wing anything, especially when it comes to work and education. The thing that the others call luck – the ‘lucky’ ones call hard work, preparation and determination. So, to answer the question – yes, you should absolutely prepare for your medical interview.
Since that is way easier said than done, we’ve decided to go out and find out what it is that you have to do when it comes to preparing for this big day and here’s what we have found out.
How To Prepare For A Medical Interview – Non-Medical Aspects
Let’s explore the preparation process, step by step, so when the time comes, you’re as prepared as the best of them.
Knowing What You Want To Be
Believing that medical knowledge is all you need to ace this interview is quite wrong. There is a lot more to being a doctor than just knowing the things you’ve read from a book. So, before you even start thinking about the interview, decide what it is that you want to be. Why do you want to attend a medical school? Do you want to be a doctor or do you want to pursue some other career in the field of medicine? This decision will help you prepare for an interview in the best way. It will show the interviewers that you’re serious about this thing and that nothing is stopping you.
Presenting Yourself In The Best Way Possible
As we’ve said in the beginning, being knowledgeable in the field of medicine is nowhere near enough to ace the interview. You have to present yourself in the best possible light. We’ve asked Medicmind Australian, what do they feel is the most important trait the interviewers look for in their candidates and they’ve told us that it’s the way you present yourself that makes or breaks the interview. How confident you are in your abilities, your interaction with people, your behaviour, compassion and so on. So, make sure you work on all of those as well. Come across as confident, but not arrogant. Be charming and charismatic, but not goofy and unprofessional. All of these are traits of a great medical professional, so make sure you showcase them during the interview.
How To Prepare For A Medical Interview – Studying & Prep
Even though you’ve been selected alongside a handful of other suitable candidates based on your academic success and potential, that doesn’t mean that you should take this portion of the interview for granted. You still have to study and prepare. You’re going to be asked a series of medicine-related questions, so you must come armed with answers.
Getting A Tutor
Finding a medicine tutor to guide you through this process is very important. Try and find someone that has already gone through the process and is familiar with it, as they can provide you with the best advice on how to handle this portion of the interview.
There are some common questions that are being asked during this interview and having articulate and well-structured answers to all of them will make sure you stand out of the bunch. Being concise with your answers shows confidence in your skill, knowledge and ability and that is very important. Also, being concise is important so your answers don’t turn out to be too broad or long.
All of this will be much easier to prepare for if you have someone experienced by your side.
UCATs, GAMSATs & BMATs
Another important aspect of this whole journey are aptitude tests used as part of the admissions process for various universities. We’re talking about UCATs, GAMSATs and BMATs (or AMCAS if you’re in the USA). These aptitude tests are designed to test a variety of your skills. It is quite necessary to perform well on these, as they’re directly influencing your chances of enrolling in medical school.
Preparing for them isn’t easy, luckily, there are a lot of courses that can help you and guide you through the process.
You can check out https://medicmind.com.au/ for more information about BMATs, but we will provide the basics below:
It is a two-hour long, written exam split into three sections. Each of these sections is specifically designed to test different skillsets and all of them are done in a different way. Here’s a brief overview of all three.
- Section One – The first section of the BMAT is arguably the easiest one. It is a multiple-choice or short-answer type of questionnaire, consisting of 35 questions. This one is designed to test your problem-solving skills, as well as some data analysis and the other ‘generic’ skills.
- Section Two – The second portion of the exam consist of 27 questions. This one will test your scientific knowledge, both medical and non-medical.
- Section Three – The final section of the exam is an essay question. The candidates will choose a single topic out of the three that are given. Your decision, as well as the way you answer the question, will be judged, so choose wisely.
As you can see, there’s quite a bit to go through when it comes to BMATs and other aptitude tests. Therefore, it’s important to thoroughly prepare for these ones. Whether you want to do it with a tutor, through a course or even all by yourself – it doesn’t really matter. However, it’s important to note that if you choose to do it all by yourself, you will have to work significantly harder.
Finally, it’s easy to see that you absolutely have to prepare for the interview and the rest of the application process. It’s won’t be easy and you’ll have to pay attention to a lot of different things, but in the end, if you do a proper job, it will all be worth it.