Preparing for your Virtual Medical School Interview

Mar 3, 2022
Author:MDconsultants

Categories: Med School Interview, Pre-med Tips

The MDconsultants network currently comprises more than 170 medical students, residents, and attending physicians who practice in various specialties across Canada and the United States. Our company is led by 3 physician partners who graduated from the University of Toronto and is supported professionally by a full-time managerial staff. MDconsultants started out in 2009 to provide high quality consulting services to enable aspiring healthcare professionals gain admission into programs of their choice. Since then, we’ve evolved into a predominantly physician network of talented consultants who solve diverse and challenging problems. Our current range of capabilities include admission consulting, healthcare consulting, providing professional second opinions, and delivering healthcare in a variety of settings.

So it appears we are still stuck in this pandemic and your interview is most likely to be virtual. The difference between this year and last year (and the year before that) though, is that the virtual way of life is no longer a novelty. That means it is expected that you’ve figured out how to put your best foot forward in this virtual way.

There are two main types of virtual interviews:

Synchronous – meaning live, in real-time and an interviewer may be interacting with you
Asynchronous – where you would be video-recorded and an assessor watches your video later

The good thing is that whether it is synchronous or asynchronous doesn’t really change the way to prep for the interview. Here is a list of strategies to help you prepare.

Talking to a camera / screen is not the same as talking to a person/ wall/ stuffed animal. (Think about the number of bloopers for movies. It’s not like the actors didn’t learn their lines. Things just feel different once the camera is on) *YOU NEED TO PRACTICE!* Look up some interview questions and practice answering them into the camera / screen.
Record a few practice runs and watch the recording. It is sometimes difficult to watch a video of yourself, but it is worth your while. Nervous twitches that you find distracting (i.e. touching your hair) will probably also be distracting to your assessor. If you think you’re talking too fast when you watch the video, your assessor probably thinks so too. Seeing all that gives you a chance to fix it before the real thing.
The basics (a lot of which you will have addressed if you followed #2)
- Is the room where you plan interview quiet enough? (If there is a choice between equally quiet rooms, pick the room farthest from the street because you can’t control when a loud vehicle passes by)
- Is the room well lit, and is the primary light source in front of you? (you will look like a dark shadow if the light source is behind you)
- Is there anything distracting in the background? (if so, remove it or change locations)
- Check that the outfit you plan to wear is a different colour than your background
- On the day of, have water and some small snacks available in the room in case you need it
- Have a stable internet connection (kick everyone else off your network if you must)
- Make sure your computer isn’t running any system updates during your interview
- Read the school’s interview instructions in detail and in its entirety
- Silence your phone (because you’re at home, it’s very easy to forget!)
Breathe, try to have fun, and remember how awesome you are!