54 Medical School Interview Questions for 2021
Medical school interview examiners are constantly revising their question bank to reflect changes in healthcare and the NHS. You will always find the classic motivation questions, as well as questions on ethical dilemmas, behaviour and morals. Most medical schools will also have stations relating to leadership and teamwork. Make sure you are up to date with current hot topics, including the coronavirus.
Our doctors have written another 54 new medical school interview questions for you to practice for your medical school interviews for 2021 Entry. Although primarily aimed at candidates applying to UK medical schools, students applying to medicine in Australia, New Zealand and Canadian medical schools should also have a go. Bookmark our medical school blog as we will add continue to add more questions as well as give you expert tips on how to approach the stations in your medical school interview.
Tell me about something you observed on your work experience that convinced you that medicine is the right career path for you?
There has been an increase in doctors using video and telephone consultations during the coronavirus pandemic. Do you think this is a positive step for the NHS?
What do you think is the most important quality in being a good doctor?
Tell me about a recent advancement in medicine that made a significant impact on patients’ lives?
You are working in an accident and emergency department. A mother comes in with an unwell child. She does not speak any English. How do you proceed from here?
Tell me what you feel is the worst aspect of the NHS and how it will impact you as a medical student?
A medical school located in the rural part of the country will only offer admission to students who commit to working in its teaching hospitals for 5 years after graduation. Do you think this is a good policy?
Do you think the working time directive set by the EU is a help or hindrance to doctors?
What do you know about artificial intelligence in medicine?
You are working as a GP in an area of the country where a high proportion of the patients are not employed. How do you think their health needs will differ from patients in a more affluent area?
Your local MP proposes that patients that are better off financially pay to see a doctor privately rather than use the NHS. Do you agree with this proposal?
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Can you think of some of the health challenges facing adolescent patients in the UK?
Tell me some of the challenges a patient who is HIV positive might face?
Why should we pick you for this medical school place compared to the other candidates that we are interviewing today?
How has the teaching of medicine at medical schools changed due to the coronavirus pandemic?
You are working as a GP in a small rural practice. A local film company asks for a list of patients with diabetes it wishes to interview in a documentary. How do you respond?
Can a doctor who does not show empathy practice medicine?
Tell me about the last film you watched which you felt was poor?
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Everyone has a personal weakness. What is yours and how do you try and overcome it?
Due to the coronavirus the UK government cancelled board exams and asked teachers to come up with centre assessed grades for each student. Are they any flaws in this policy?
Your local NHS trust will no longer offer lung surgery for patients who continue to smoke. What are your views on this decision?
What is the difference between showing empathy and showing sympathy to a patient?
One of your cancer patients asks you for a copy of his medical records. He wishes to travel to a clinic abroad to help him end his life and he needs to hand over his records to them. Do you agree to his request?
If we do not give you a place at this medical school how would you respond?
The medical school wishes to adopt a policy that any student over the age of 35 not be admitted to the course. It states the reason as these future doctors will have less years to offer the NHS. What are your views on this proposal?
You are a respiratory doctor who has been ordered by the hospital managers to look after patients with coronavirus on your ward instead of your usual patients. You arrive for work and notice there is only enough PPE (personal protective equipment) for the doctors and not the nurses. What do you do?
The study of medicine is challenging even for the most able student. How do we know you will not drop out of the course?
This medical school has 10% of its places reserved for students from poorer or under privileged backgrounds and will also accept them with lower grades than a student from a more affluent background. What are your views on this admissions policy?
What do you think are some of the challenges of using social media to help patients during the coronavirus pandemic?
Do you think you will have problems adapting to problem-based learning comping from A-level studies?
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How has the coronavirus pandemic affected patient’s ability to access healthcare in the NHS?
Do you think it is important that doctors strive towards positions of leadership?
Tell me about your achievements outside of your school studies and how they will help you as a medical student?
What do you understand by the term pandemic?
How do you know that this medical school is the correct one for you?
Due to the economic recession the government wishes every doctor to take a pay cut of 20% to help with the funding shortfall in the NHS. Do you agree?
Should the NHS fund the cost medicine that are used to treat minor illness (such as paracetamol) for all patients?
You are about to sit your finals exams. You notice just before you start the exam that one of the examiners is your own GP and one of the actors is your cousin. Does this raise any concerns?
You are working at the local hospital trust as a junior doctor. The hospital management has decided to cancel the leave of all doctors and nurses over Christmas due to the needs of patients due to the coronavirus pandemic. However, this does not apply to the management who make this decision. What are your views on this policy?
You are a hospital doctor arriving in the hospital car park. You accidentally run over a dog which belongs to one of the cancer patients that you are treating. What do you do?
Tell me about a situation where someone gave you negative feedback on something that you did? How did you respond?
The government is proposing to vaccinate every person in the county against the coronavirus as soon as it becomes available. It states this is needed to ‘protect the NHS.’ What are your views on this policy?
The local hospital wishes to raise money to help fund patient care. A local businessman wants to open a shop that sells tobacco at the entrance to the hospital. Do you think the hospital should accept this proposal?
There are several professions that make a significant impact to people. Why don’t you become a school teacher instead of a doctor?
You are working in a psychiatric unit in your local hospital. One of the patients takes a picture of you using her phone during the consultation and posts it on Facebook. What do you do?
Your local doctor’s union proposes a series of weekend strikes if the government does go ahead with a proposal to reduce the pay of junior doctors and increase the number of weekends on duty. Do you support the doctor’s union in this proposal?
Why have you chosen to pursue a career in medicine?
Tell me about a situation where you felt you were under undue pressure to make a decision and what you did in response?
One of the fundamental professional standards of being a doctor is honesty and integrity. What do these two terms mean to you and can you give me an example of where you have already demonstrated them?
You are a GP visiting a few of your elderly patients in a nursing home. There has been a spread of corona virus in the nursing home and the government has told all the patients to self-isolate and staff to take precautions. However, the relatives demand being able to visit their loved ones at least once a week. What do you do?
Tell me about a situation where you did not agree with the decision of another person and how did you proceed?
You are working as a consultant in a hospice that looks after terminally ill cancer patients. One of your patients that has cancer that cannot be cured refuses any help from you and wishes to go to a religious practitioner and try unconventional treatment. What are your views on this?
You are a junior doctor treating patients on the medical ward. You notice on the patient drug chart that a few of the patients appear not to have been given medication for the last two days. What do you do?
What do you think is the most negative side of practicing medicine?
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