Interview questions can come in many shapes and forms, including personal questions, event-specific questions, conflict-specific questions, ethical or contentious questions, scenario-based questions, and role plays.
The questions listed below are good examples of the kinds of questions you might encounter during your interview:
Personal questions:
- Why do you want to become a doctor?
- What hobbies do you do in your spare time? What is your favorite subject at school, and why? What are your top 3 weaknesses, and why?
Event-specific questions:
- Tell me about your greatest accomplishment in the last 12 months.
- Tell me about a time that you failed, and what you learned from that experience.
Conflict-specific questions:
- Tell me about a time when you accidentally offended someone.
- When was the last time you got into an argument with a friend or family member? What happened, and what did you learn from it?
Ethical or contentious questions:
- What are your thoughts on the legalization of medicinal cannabis in Australia? Do you agree or disagree with this action?
- Do you think that people who repeatedly utilize the services of an emergency department to treat minor ailments as a means to save money (instead of going to the GP) should have restrictions put on their ability to access the ED in the future?
- Should the government create a new policy that makes it mandatory for all newborns in this country to be vaccinated within their first 6 months of life?
Scenario-based questions:
- You are a fourth-year medical student who has just commenced a placement at a local hospital. You are required to observe the day-to-day tasks of doctors for clinical exposure in the workplace. However, as you follow Dr Smith, a registrar, and sit in on his consultations, you realise that he consistently acts in a condescending and dismissive manner to patients of Asian descent. Not only does Dr Smith constantly talk over the patients, he also talks down the effectiveness of traditional herbal remedies by saying that ‘the Chinese have no idea what they are doing’. You have also heard him muttering racial slurs after patients have left the consultation. What do you do in this situation?
Role plays:
- You are a doctor whose long-time patient, Fred, has just passed away due to complications with diabetes. Fred was 82 years of age and leaves behind his wife Dorothy, to whom he was married for 60 years. Inside the room is Dorothy, who has just heard the news about Fred’s death from a nurse. Enter the room to talk to Dorothy about this matter.
