Probably THE MOST obvious, important, and MOST challenging question to answer during your Medicine interview is “why do you want to become a doctor?”
FACT: Students can get rejected if they don’t know how to answer this question.
In today’s article, we will give advice on how to answer this very important question.
- So many students go into the interview hoping and praying that this question does not come up. But when it does, they look bamboozled in front of the panel which isn’t a good start. Answering this question is all about knowing your qualities and knowing why pursuing medicine will be fulfilling for you.
- Even if a student has an answer, they have not practiced it sufficiently. Ideally, we advise that you practice answering in front of someone who has had experience as an interviewer and is not a friend or family member so they can provide you with unbiased helpful feedback.
- Generic phrases such as “I want to help people” are not going to impress the panel. It lacks an in-depth meaning.
- The next common error we see with students is just lack of organization, going on and on rambling, going off on tangents and by the end of the answer, the panel is none the wiser.
- Finally, the answer students give does not tell the panel about your attributes and how these attributes are linked with your insights into a career as a doctor.
TIPS: First of all, you should want to talk about what triggered your interest in medicine, then you want to talk about how you explored that interest, what is required of a doctor, and how your personality fits the criteria.