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Interview Tips - How to answer "Why Medicine?"

2017-10-15 · Long video (solo, talking head or whiteboard) · Ali, Kenny, Paul, a guest · recording, 12:52 · watch on YouTube

Topic: Medicine and his doctor years · mode: List of tips or lessons · tags: Aimed at students

Ali says "Why medicine?" is a nearly useless warm-up question in medicine interviews and a cliched answer is fine; seven tips from medical students (talking points instead of a script, a reason specific to you, an anecdote, realistic rather than idealistic reasons, speaking from the heart, not worrying) are followed by mock answers from Ali, Kenny and Paul.

What is said

The parts of the video and what is said in each (★ — how much it matters to the video).

00:00:00 — Ali introduces the video: his take, seven tips and three example answers

00:00:37 — Ali's take on "Why medicine?": not a good question, don't worry about it

  • ★★★ Ali does not like "Why medicine?" as an interview question: interviewers know everyone prepares for it, quite a lot of universities no longer ask it, and that makes it a sort of useless question. — 00:00:37 · Medicine interview
  • ★★ Ali says those who do well with "Why medicine?" genuinely have a specific moment to point to, such as friends who spent time in Great Ormond Street as children because of health problems. — 00:00:42 · Medicine interview, Great Ormond Street Hospital
  • ★★ Ali says he and many people he knows had no exposure to hospitals when younger and chose medicine for cliched reasons: liking science, helping people, lifelong learning, a cool career. — 00:01:12

  • ★★★ Ali advises not worrying much about "Why medicine?": treat it like "How was your journey here?", a question to relax you; a cliched answer is fine, and a genuinely specific reason is better if you have one. — 00:01:52 · Medicine interview

    “And it's okay if you give a cliched answer.”

00:02:57 — Tip 1: prepare points, don't memorise a paragraph

  • ★★ a guest: A medical student advises preparing for "Why medicine?" by talking to teachers, friends and family and writing down a few points to talk around, not a paragraph to recite. — 00:02:57 · Medicine interview
  • ★★ a guest: A second student advises going in with the main point of your "Why medicine?" answer and talking about it, since passion shows through when you have not rehearsed too much. — 00:03:27 · Medicine interview

00:03:44 — Tip 2: make your answer specific to you

  • ★★★ a guest: A student advises making your "Why medicine?" answer true of you: besides the normal reasons everyone gives (liking science, solving problems, teamwork), think what your own reason for applying is. — 00:03:44 · Medicine interview
  • ★★ a guest: The same student suggests reflecting on a family member's illness or your own health problems: what the experience taught you and what made you want to be on the other side. — 00:04:24 · Medicine interview

00:04:52 — Tip 3: use an anecdote

  • ★★ a guest: A student answered "Why medicine?" by describing the moment on work experience when they knew this was what they wanted to do for life, which made the answer personal and unique. — 00:04:55 · Medicine interview
  • ★★ a guest: Another student adds that such a moment helps you stand out from applicants who only list reasons, as does a particular doctor who inspired you and what you liked about them. — 00:05:12 · Medicine interview

00:05:31 — Tip 4: be realistic, not idealistic

  • ★★ a guest: A student says "Why medicine?" is worth preparing for because it is often one of the first interview questions, and a confident answer makes you more comfortable for the rest of the interview. — 00:05:31 · Medicine interview
  • ★★ a guest: That student answered that they enjoyed the sciences at school and wanted a job applying them with constant learning; a bit cliched, but if it is true for you, that is all that matters. — 00:05:31
  • ★★★ a guest: The student advises avoiding financial reasons and idealistic ones about saving lives in "Why medicine?"; reasons that show a realistic appreciation of what the career entails cause few problems. — 00:06:03 · Medicine interview

00:06:29 — Tip 5: be specific, even with a generic answer

  • ★★ a guest: A student says even the generic answer of liking science and wanting to help people should be made specific: what you like about science, which area of helping people, such as helping neurologically disabled people. — 00:06:29 · Medicine interview
  • ★★ a guest: A second student says everyone has generic reasons for medicine; what counts is how you flesh them out and explain why, putting your own spin on them to stand out. — 00:06:29 · Medicine interview

00:07:14 — Tip 6: speak from the heart

  • ★★ a guest: A student says the interviewers' key aim with "Why medicine?" is to find out that you are not there for the wrong reasons and have given the question some thought. — 00:07:14 · Medicine interview
  • ★★ a guest: The same student says cliched answers are fine but speaking from the heart matters most, since six years of medical study is a long journey you should have thought about. — 00:07:14 · Medicine interview

00:07:47 — Tip 7: try not to worry about it

  • ★★ a guest: A student advises saying what you really mean, to come across passionate, and not worrying, since "Why medicine?" is not the most important question; an anecdote or details make it more original. — 00:07:47 · Medicine interview

00:08:24 — Ali introduces the three mock answers

  • ★ Ali says Kenny and Paul answer "Why medicine?" off the cuff, without knowing the question was coming; he answers as he would have when applying and would today, with job interviews coming up. — 00:08:24 · Kenny, Paul

00:08:56 — Example 1: Ali's answer

  • ★★ In his mock answer Ali says medicine attracts him for lifelong learning (always changing, new research, so he won't get bored) and for working closely with people and making a difference in their lives. — 00:08:58

00:09:46 — Example 2: Kenny's answer

  • ★★ Kenny says his choice of medicine was a build-up of decisions: at GCSE he wanted engineering but did not get the grades, then took to human biology in year 12 and saw himself as a driven people person. — 00:09:48 · Kenny
  • ★★ Kenny says work experience, when he eventually got it, solidified his choice to pursue a career in medicine. — 00:10:42 · Kenny

00:11:11 — Example 3: Paul's answer

  • ★★ Paul says medicine appeals to him as a challenge: it demands knowledge patients can trust, communication and, in procedural fields, skill with your hands, with excellence in all of them. — 00:11:14 · Paul

00:11:52 — Closing: no right or wrong answer

  • ★★★ Ali says there is no right or wrong answer to these interview questions beyond what would make you seem a bad person; some students think it is good to stand out, while he thinks being a bit cliched does not matter, since interviewers do not really care about "Why medicine?". — 00:12:08 · Medicine interview

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Also: Great Ormond Street Hospital · Kenny · Paul · University of Cambridge

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