By Jessica Simms Morris ’16

Ahhh, it’s that time of the year… medical school applications are in – you’re exhausted, and you’re completely broke.  And now, the waiting game begins (let’s be honest, it’s excruciatingly nerve-wracking).

One of the most rewarding things about applying to medical school is receiving an interview.  YOU were chosen.  Out of thousands of applicants, YOU are given this opportunity because someone in admissions likes YOU on paper.  This is what you have been waiting for ….a chance to shine and to let the school know why they should choose YOU.  It’s time to ask yourself – what makes YOU so special?

I am writing this blog to describe my personal experience with the medical school interview, and hopefully put your mind at ease when you receive yours!

The Application

I submitted my application to AACOMAS in July and received secondary applications from all programs but one.  In late July, I was offered an interview at Liberty University College of Osteopathic Medicine (LUCOM) on September 29, 2017.

Advice:  Apply early!!!

Preparing For The Interview

I’ve been offered an interview – now what? It’s time to prepare!!! Although I had about seven weeks to prepare, I knew I needed to begin immediately.  The first thing I focused on was an outfit.  I wanted to find something business professional; however, I also knew comfort was important because nothing is worse than being uncomfortable while your nerves are already racing.  I ended up deciding on a charcoal gray suit, a nice blouse, and close-toed shoes with a mild heel – appealing to the eye, yet not distracting.  For me, this was most comfortable, but it varies from person to person.

Next, I reviewed my application and highlighted my strengths and weaknesses.  I did this to prepare supportive, detailed explanations for questions directly related to my application including, but not limited to, academics, research experience, volunteer experience, and healthcare experience.  Furthermore, I thought long and hard about my goals and why I am passionate about medicine.  I knew I would be asked a few arduous questions involving medical ethics, so I made sure I knew my stances on various ethical dilemmas.  This way, no matter what the question, I could show my thought process on how I arrived at my conclusions.

Advice:  Spend time looking for the perfect outfit for you! Be both comfortable and appealing.  You don’t need to stick to just black, white, and grey; however, choose colors wisely.  Bright, exotic colors can come off as distracting to an interviewer.  Also, it is a good idea to have a backup outfit in case anything happens to the first.  Prepare for the unexpected!

Know your application inside and out.  Be able to provide support for anything you listed/wrote in your application.  A big mistake applicants can make is saying something in their application that they can’t support.  For example, if you state you want to serve the underserved, be sure you can say why and provide evidence supporting that statement!  Never fabricate anything just to make yourself come across as a better applicant – this is a HUGE no-no, and the interviewer will be able to recognize it!

You can’t prepare a well thought out answer for every possible question, but there are a few you should definitely have an answer for such as, “Why do you want to be a doctor?”  You know why you want to be a doctor, but sometimes this isn’t always easy to convey to an interviewer.  Practice this one – it’s important.  As for ethical questions, know where you stand on certain issues like euthanasia, abortion, and stem cell therapy.  If you are strongly for or against a particular issue, be sure to indicate the pros and cons and why you feel the way you do.  It is crucial to hold your ground; however, show that you understand the pros and cons because this demonstrates your critical thinking abilities and open-mindedness.  If you are against a particular issue, say abortion, for instance, be sure to indicate you would ensure proper transfer of care for your patient.  Even if you will not perform an abortion, you are still an advocate for your patient and are responsible for finding someone who is willing to attend to their specific needs.

The Night Before The Interview

My husband and I drove to Lynchburg the night before my interview and stayed at a hotel.  Lynchburg is about 1.5 hours away from Harrisonburg where we live – so not very far, but far enough!  We stayed at a Fairfield Inn and Suites, which was less than half a mile from LUCOM.  This way, if the car wouldn’t start (you never know), I could easily walk!  I planned to fall asleep by 9 pm and wake up at 6 am.  HA – right.  I didn’t fall asleep until about 11:45 pm and I was wide awake by 4:15 am – I couldn’t help it, the nerves were officially kicking in.

Advice: So, I’ll sound like a hypocrite, but do your best to get at least 7-8 hours of sleep the night before your interview.  It does the body good.  Try your absolute best to relax.  Don’t try to review things the night before; it will only make you more nervous (based on personal experience – I wish I would have just taken a hot shower and read a book before falling asleep).

Interview Day

My interview day was scheduled to start at 8 am.  I woke up at 4:15 am and was ready by 6 am (this is typical for me…its better to be TOO prepared than being rushed and late, right?). I ate a light, but substantial breakfast – a slice of peanut butter toast and a banana.  As much as I love coffee, I avoided it since I was already nervous.

I arrived 30 minutes early; however, I didn’t go into the building until 7:50 am.  It’s good to be early, but not too early.  The Assistant Director of Admissions was standing at the front door when I walked up to the building.  After introducing myself, he escorted me over to the other interviewees while we waited for everyone to arrive (8 interviewees total). We introduced ourselves and conversation seemed easy. Before I knew it, my nerves slowly started to fade away.

Once everyone arrived, we headed to a conference room where we were introduced to the Dean.  This was surprising because I heard it is very rare to meet the Dean.  Everyone took turns saying where they were from, where they graduated, and where their favorite vacation spot was.  Following these brief introductions, the Dean talked about what interview day is really about.  He mentioned that they already like what they’ve seen on paper and just want to get to know us on a more personal level.  I don’t know about the other interviewees, but this put my mind at ease.  After all, I feel like the hardest part of applying is getting past the numbers and statistics on your application.  Showing someone who you are in person is the easy part!

Now, it was time for the actual interviews.  The interviews (individual) consisted of 30 minutes with a clinician and 30 minutes with a science professor. My first interviewer was a Family Medicine Physician (Eastern Mennonite College Alumnus…woot woot!).  He was absolutely fantastic.  I didn’t even feel like I was being interviewed, it felt more like a conversation.  Some of the things we talked about were problems in the medical field today, my stance on euthanasia, and how I feel spirituality plays a role in medicine (all of which I felt extremely comfortable with).  My second interviewer was also great (He is one of the Anatomy teachers, so our love for Anatomy was a great conversational tool!).  Some of the things we discussed were the strengths and weaknesses of my application, what I do for fun, and where I see myself in 10 years.  He also provided me with an ethical dilemma and asked me how I would respond.

The rest of the interview day, we had lunch with several another faculty, went on a student-led tour, and discussed financial aid.  Students were available to answer any questions we had (In fact, the students were extremely welcoming.  Some even cheered us on when they were passing us in the hallway). I was completely in love with the school, and I felt like it was the perfect fit for me.

Advice: Wake up early enough, so you don’t feel rushed.  Eat a light, healthy breakfast.  You don’t want to eat something heavy, yet you want to eat something that will sustain you and provide you with energy.  If you are nervous, avoid caffeine (unless you’re a zombie without it – you don’t want to scare anyone).

Arrive at least 10-15 minutes before your interview.

BE PERSONABLE! Get to know the people who are also interviewing that day.  They’re nervous too, believe me! Also, get to know the faculty and staff that took the time out of their busy schedules to get to know you!

As far as the interviews go, be yourself.  Pay attention to your posture and body language and make the interviewer feel that you want to be there.  Be confident (you wouldn’t be there if they didn’t like you – always remember that).  If you have prepared adequately, you will come across prepared.

As I already mentioned, during my second interview, I was given a hypothetical situation in which I had to respond.  The interviewer stated, “Suppose you are a resident.  This is your last year.  Everything has been going extremely well for you, and you are exploring your future job opportunities.  One night, during your shift, everything seems quiet and calm.  All of a sudden, you hear over the intercom that there has been a mass casualty and that the E.R. is expecting many new patients.  Your attending puts you in charge of the patients on your floor and grabs everyone else to head down to the E.R. to help.  Everything seems quiet until suddenly you notice one of your patient’s vitals starting to change.  You go in to check on her, and her vitals are now extremely unstable.  You are aware of her life-threatening condition, and you know a medication that could make her better; however, as a resident, you are not allowed to push the medication without approval from your attending.  You rush outside of the room.  No one is there.  You call down to the E.R., and no one picks up.  What do you do?”

Phew, this one was difficult and required some thought, but ultimately, my answer came to this, “Of course I would want to push the medication in hopes of saving my patient’s life; however, legally and ethically, I would NOT push the medication.  I would do my best to get ahold of my attending and to get some help, but in the meantime, I would take care of the patient in any way I could that was within my scope of practice.”

You may come across some questions that seem difficult, but there is nothing wrong with taking a second to think about it.  That’s what they want you to do!  Remember when answering these questions, always take into consideration what is/isn’t legal.  If your answer to the above scenario is to push the medication, you have most likely taken yourself out of consideration.  Getting through medical school takes a lot of time and effort, not just from you but also from those who train you.  They don’t want to waste time on someone who is going to break the law and get their license revoked after all of that hard work.

A Few Additional Tips

• Bring several copies of your resume.
• If you’ve participated in research, it may be a good idea to put together one page of important figures or conclusions to hand to the interviewer while you explain your research (if prompted).
• Research current medical issues and technological advances and be able to talk about them.
• Know the mission and values of the school you are interviewing with. Be sure to include and apply these values in your responses.
• The interview is the ENTIRE day, not just when you are actually in the room with your interviewers. Every person you meet is evaluating you.
• Send a handwritten “thank-you” note to each person you meet that day because they are all interviewing you! An email, from my understanding, is acceptable in place of a handwritten note; however, I feel a handwritten note is more personal.
• You’ve got this. 😉

Overall, I had a very positive interview experience.  Some students would say otherwise, but I feel this may have something to do with them not being a good fit for the school.  You may be the one being interviewed; however, you are also interviewing them.  It is important that you like them just as much as they like you!

NOTE:  Jessica was accepted to Liberty University College of Osteopathic Medicine and will matriculate Fall of 2018.