Dr Bates Interview

[Ian Wong MS2]

Hi, Ian here again.

HH asked this question on the old board and it hasn't gotten any replies yet, so it's fair game for a move. I put in my reply after it.

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Did anyone have interview with Dr. Bates? How did it go? I hear she is very passive......is this true?
What kind of questions were asked?
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Here's my story. Dr. Bates was my last interviewer of the day in Apr. 1999. I'd scheduled it to have all three interviews on the same day, to minimize travel back and forth between Victoria/Vancouver during exam time. She was obviously tired too, and she mentioned that she'd been interviewing people all day (another interviewee had just walked out of the office).

Despite all this, plus the fact that she was running about 30 minutes late, we had a very pleasant interview. There wasn't any air of confrontation at all, but rather a good conversation. I honestly enjoyed talking to her, and I think she really paid attention to what I had to say.

I don't remember any specific questions that I was asked, and so I can't help you in that regard. However, the most important part of any interview is to BE YOURSELF! The second most important rule is to KNOW YOURSELF AND YOUR APPLICATION!

You need to know what you wrote in your autobiographical statements, and to have a general sense of what your referees wrote in your reference letters. These documents form the basis for many of the questions you will be asked in your interviews. Possible questions would include stuff like: "How did volunteering at X affect you. What did you learn from it?" "Give me some of your weaknesses, and give me some examples in your life where you've tried to correct them."

Introspective questions like the above are the ones where people with that elusive, vaguely-defined-but-everyone-knows-what-you're-talking-about "life experience" really shine. This is the reason why admission committees love to see people that have volunteered, travelled, worked different jobs, and engaged in interesting hobbies and outside activities. The manner and content of your answers here often strikes a really deep chord inside your interviewers.

Everyone who gets an interview (and many of the people who don't) is academically qualified to handle medical school. The interview is there to select the most well-rounded of that batch. Be yourself, know yourself, and know your application.

Ian
Can, MS2

[Ian Wong]

Hi all,

Just to tag onto what I wrote above, here is an e-mail that I sent to a friend before his UBC interviews. It's got some details that I neglected to mention in the previous message. I thought it might be helpful for some of the people heading into their interviews.

Ian
Can, MS2

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All this information applies to when I interviewed 2
years ago, and so things might not be exactly the same, but they are probably pretty close.

I think the most important part of being prepared for your interview is to know your application inside and out. Your interviewers get all your autobiographical material as well as your reference letters beforehand. For all three of my interviewers (this year they switched to 2 people), each one of them knew about stuff in my profile beforehand, and asked me to expand on certain experiences that I'd had.

For instance, I'd gone on a student exchange to China a few years back; one interviewer asked how that contributed to my development as a person (what had I learned from travelling). I'd also done some fairly exotic volunteering work, and another interviewer asked why I'd done that, and whether I thought that it had impacted my choice to apply for med school. Therefore, for everything that you wrote in your application, have a good story or learning experience that you can use. I guarantee that something along those lines will come up.

As well, you can expect an ethical question or two. One interviewer asked me about my stance on euthanasia, and gave me a scenario to think through. Here, the important step is to show that you understand both sides of the issue, and can weigh out the pros and cons accordingly. In the end, you should say something along the lines of: "... and so I've outlined both opposing viewpoints on this issue, and my decision is..." and then don't waffle. As a doctor, you are going to have to make tough calls in the future, and showing indecisiveness after you have measured out, carefully considered, and given your decision is nearly incompatible with being a doctor. Get all the available information, weigh both sides, and then make a judgement call and stick to it.

Current events questions are also a possibility, although I don't remember getting one. However, I did read the Globe and Mail daily for a couple months before my interviews, so I felt well prepared. If you know it, you know it, but if you don't, don't worry and don't BS. Just say that you hadn't heard about it. It's not a crime that you don't know about the latest civilian uprising in Usbekghahanibranistan.

As for non-med issues, whatever is hot in the news. I don't follow current events that much right now, so I wouldn't know what's going on, but any wars, religious debates, or other cultural type clashes are usually high-yield. After all, as a doctor, you could be asked to treat people of any race, religion, sexual orientation, yadda, yadda, yadda. It's good to be up to date on that type of stuff. Oh yeah, one interviewer asked me who the federal health minister was. Oops! :)

Med issues: think about funding and what you would do to change the system, if you were the Prime Minister. Think about the problems in rural BC, and attracting physicians up north. Think about the brain drain to the south. The Robert Latimer decision was fairly recent and could come up.

Unfortunately, I don't know of any resources that could tell you more about the health care system. My opinion on this is maybe book an appointment or a lunch with your GP, and pick his/her brain for a while. Most doctors are opinionated as heck, and don't mind sharing their insights. You could also look up Dr. Eike-Henner Kluge, the prof for Phil 331 (Biomed Ethics). His office is on the third floor of Clearihue, and he's got health care opinions out the yinyang.

Finally, I don't know either of the below interviewers. Chances are good though that one will be friendly, and the other will be confrontational. This tests your composure and ability to explain things rationally and calmly when under attack. You'll need that in spades as a doctor.

That's about all I can really share with you at the moment. There will be a wine and cheese event for all the interviewees later on in the year, and I'll be there for that. Hope to see you there...