Medic seminar – Tuesday 27th Nov 12

Dr Fiona Cameron – anaesthetist (and Morven Millar’s Mum)

Prep for interview - got to be better than everyone else.
What do different medical schools expect?
Dr Cameron heavily involved in anaesthesia interviews at national level. Can't say stuff about Dundee - what she will say is inpublic domain.
Interview is to check what sort of person you are - you could havewritten anything in PS.

  • So you volunteered? - how many days? Where?
  • Why? What did you learn?
  • Weed out ‘nutters’.

Score them and add this toAAAAA / Grade 8 / Head of house etc etc as everyone has them.
Why medic and why at that univ? - have to have this rehearsed andplanned to nth degree. Not enough just to have trotted along toRoxburghe House. Which were your favourite patients and why?
Diff univs have diff styles of teaching - have to know whatis on their curric and why you would fit in there. Glasgow may bechanging from problem-based learning to more traditional systems-based. Edin saythey don't do problem-based - but they do. Earlier on - hugely importantto have gone to Open Days and Look At Stuff in o0rder subsequently to be able to say at interview 'See that 3D stuff onthe 3rd floor...' - interviewer will mark you up for having noticed.
Need to know

  • what F1s and F2s do
  • that you have to do professionalexams
  • that there's a whole variety of specialisms
  • diff betweenprimary and secondary care.

Justify what you have put in PS -leadership skills, confidence. What is Big diff between Dr and nurse?- responsibility. If sth wrong, nurse just writes 'Dr informed' onform and so passes buck. Need to convey at interview that you are upfor that.
Confidentiality and probity hugely important. Do you understand what these mean?
Evidence of team-working skills.
Aberdeen this year going to do MMI with 5 stations.
Dundee do 7 stations.
St A / Glasgow - traditional panels.
No point in asking friends and preparing answers - may be diff question andyou will get it wrong!
Set of example questions in her PPT. Think esp about the 'resolving adifficult situation' question.
Some univs use role-play to assess how you would deal with situations.

Presentation: conform to dress code. Look like a Dr! or at least a credible medical student.

  • Short skirts / high heels / open toes / dangly jewellery – definitely not on menu
  • Make up discreet / hair tied back / nails short and clean
  • Boys - clean, short hair, suit / jacket and tie

Be confident, smile, but don't be arrogant
Eye contact, don't look at floor, speak properly, no slang, no 'like'
Don't giggle - practise saying phrases out loud in front of bedroommirror / to cat etc.
Interviewer looking for well-prepared, enthusiastic, clear ideas about why medic / why this course etc
Know PS well - prepared to talk about everything you have said in it.
Stuff about all different styles of learning / remote and rural /intercalated BMSc etc
St George's MedicalSchool have whole list of stuff about MMI on their website which will alsoapply to Dundee.
YouTube have stuff - some MMI samples from Dundee.
They are not giving you a place - you have to take it.
If they invite you to ask a question - make sure you have thought about where it might leadand that you have done some research on where it might lead. It's morea way to show off than a real enquiry. Example of one girl who lost her place purely on having asked really stupid question about anatomy in first year (proved she hadn’t read website).
Amy Watson - BMSc in Medical Education - now 4th year
Focus mainly on MMIs
Dundee - 10 stations, 7 minutes - can feel very fast and very slow.Bell signifies start and finish. Keep cool in between! People willshow you the way. Make the most of each one and then leave it behind you.
Obvious prep - hot topics, ethical issues (moral principles whichgovern a person or group's actions)
That list of q's which we have on Highway.
Why a doctor - why not a nurse? Which branch would you choose to headfor? Which steps informed this decision?
Thinking about the way you learn - and why that med sch would suityou. Can have mixture of styles - don't have to be 'strictly PBL'.
Reading - BMJ occasionally?
Empathy - have some thought to what this means.
Might be good to be 'both leader and follower'.
Personal insight - good and bad points about you. Think up two of each!
Role of Medicine in society?
Work experience - anything that shocked you?
Tolerance of ambiguity and ethics - there are quite a lot of greyareas. Want to see how you react.

Know why GMC is there and what it aims to do. Look at Tomorrow'sDoctors. Scholar / practitioner / professional.

Possible ethical questions:
‘We don't do euthanasia’ (Dr Cameron - ‘we’ being British medical establishment) - we do symptom relief. Say:‘That's a reallydifficult scenario.’(Apparently Liverpool Care Pathway too advanced a topic?)
Lowering limits on abortion / bad operation on Bristol babies undertaken by overconfident cardiac surgeons. Anaesthetist who blew whistle now works inQueensland.So be conservative in all your answers.
Maybe have to think about what if you had to tell on someone - to whomto address yourself and in what order? Should you tackle them first before going to Chief Medical Director / CEO non-medical director? Have to protect patients from anyone smelling ofalcohol, for example. Think about this.