Medical School Interview Questions 2023
Medical School Interview Questions - Hot Topics
Medical schools do expect you to know about what it is like working as a doctor and some of the challenges facing the NHS. Speaking to students on our Medical School Interview Course in Windsor last weekend, medical schools still need to send an invite for interviews to our students. A few others have now sent pre-interview questionnaires and coursework related to work experience. Let us have a look at some recent hot topics.
Nurses Strike in the NHS
The nurse’s union is planning a strike for its members. The nurse’s strike is primarily about pay being increased in line with inflation. Doctors have also been on strike in the past over terms and conditions.
Think about how you would respond to the following statements in your medical school interview:-
‘Medicine is a vocation, and doctors should not be concerned about how much they are paid.’
‘Doctors going on strike is part of showing resilience.’
‘Doctors striking is acceptable as part of social justice.’
‘Patient’s views should not be taken into consideration when doctors make decisions to strike.’
‘Doctors should make the welfare of patients their first concern, and not their pay.’
NHS increased waiting times
There is increased pressure on the NHS from patient demand, and this is resulting in increased waiting times, whether this is the wait time for a paramedic or waiting times to see a clinician in A&E. Questions around this topic related to the causes and effects of this on patients and healthcare providers.
Should there be a waiting time target for patients to be seen in the accident and emergency department?
You are a doctor seeing a patient at home. It appears your patient is having a stroke and needs emergency treatment. The ambulance service states the wait is likely to be 8 hours. What do you do?
The waiting time for a knee replacement operation on the NHS is now two years. What issues does this raise?
Patients should be able to pay to have treatment sooner in an NHS hospital rather than funding a private clinic. Do you agree with this statement?
Why do we have such long waiting lists for specific treatments in the NHS?
In vitro fertilisation (IVF)
This topic has been quiet for several years but now has emerged again. There are recent topics related to the anonymity of donors and the use of frozen eggs and old sperm. This also ties in with the issue of cloning, which has also gone quiet after Dolly the Sheep.
Should children from donated sperm have the right to know who their biological father is? (Think about the reasons why this might be the case, for example, a family history of certain diseases.)
‘Children born through a sperm donor have no father.’ What are your views on this statement?
There will be technology to store sperm and eggs for centuries. What issues does this raise?
A patient asks for you to help her conceive a baby with identical DNA to her deceased husband. Do you agree to help?
Austerity and the Cost-of-Living Crisis
The impact of poverty on patients and their access to healthcare is a topic that has been discussed previously. However, the recent cost of living crisis is impacting the ability of patients to maintain the basics, such as eating and heating. It is also having an impact on welfare and public services.
Your local nursing home has decided to reduce the heating for a few hours this winter due to costs. How will this impact the patient who lives as a resident?
You work in an area where most of the children are from socially deprived backgrounds. How would the cost of living crisis affect the health and well-being of these children?
The government is planning to ban ‘buy one get one free’ deals at supermarkets to tackle the rise in obesity. Should it change its mind due to the cost of living crisis?
The government have asked doctors to prescribe fruit and vegetables to patients. Do you agree with this policy?
Abortion
This is one of the classical topics in medical school interviews. This has been raised as a hot topic again, for example, in the US, where the view could be that abortion is not permitted under any circumstances, and in Finland, where the requirement that two doctors have to agree to an abortion for a patient.
What do you think about the following statements?
‘Abortion should not be available under any circumstances for patients’
‘Women should be able to decide what to do with their own body, including whether they wish to carry a child.’
‘Women should be able to have an abortion by using medication at home rather than in the hospital.’
‘Abortion should be permitted at any time until birth, as the foetus is not a person.’
‘Doctors who disagree with abortion should not be seeing pregnant female patients’
‘Abortions should be not permitted if the foetus has an abnormality that is cosmetic and can be treated after birth.’
Remember to review both sides of the argument in a given dilemma and also construct your answer using a framework (for example, using an ethical framework).
Stay focused on your A-level studies, and keep working on your interview skills. We have Medical School Interview courses every weekend until Christmas, so don’t forget to book your place.
Come to our Medical School Interview Course, taught in person by Dr Abdul Mannan, a fully qualified NHS doctor and medical school tutor. You are taught in person by Dr Abdul Mannan, a Medical School Tutor at three UK medical schools. Historical 95-98% success rate.
