Top 5 Dos and Donts to ACE Your Medical School Interview

Top 5 Dos and Don'ts to ACE Your Medical School Interview MCAT Medical School Admissions This article is a guest post written byAdmissions Helpers. Once an applicant has submitted her application through AMCAS/AACOMAS and completed secondary applications, she can begin to prepare for the next step in the process, the personal interview. There are generally two formats applicants can expect, either the Multiple Mini Interview where an applicant will move from one station to another meeting with different interviewers, and the traditional interview, which can be considered a professional conversation that we will address here. Many applicants make the mistake of trying to anticipate questions and rehearse responses. There is no way to predict exactly what questions will be asked and in fact interviewers are not looking for how much you know, as much as they are looking for an opportunity to learn other things about you to solidify an opinion of how suited you are to successfully pursue a career in medicine. Spending exorbitant amounts of time “studying” for the interview is counterproductive. However, you can take some steps to prepare. 1) Review The first step is to know your own application inside and out. Review all of your activities, education, volunteer work, and research thoroughly on both your primary and secondary application until you know your applications inside and out. Be prepared to articulate your involvement in outside activities and research. For example, if you were in a laboratory studying the genetics of prostate cancer you should be able to articulate the background, hypotheses, methodology, and results in away that shows a strong understanding of your project. Also maintain consistency throughout your application and interview. If your personal statement talks about a single life-changing experience that influenced your decision to pursue medicine, you should refer to that experience in your interview when asked about experiences that led you to medicine. Your rationale for your interest in medicine and the experiences that define you should be consistent. Remember, you were selected based on the information on your application. Your responses pertaining to anything presented on the application should be consistent. Failure to do so can reflect negatively. 2) The interview is NOT a Test Many applicants make the mistake of assuming they are going into a test and that interviewers will be scoring them based on right or wrong answers. Exerting tremendous amounts of energy preparing full answers to questions wastes precious time, energy and creates unnecessary anxiety. What you can expect is that you will engage in a formal conversation with one to three interviewers rather than being tested on your knowledge. Interviewers are interested in your point of view and how coherently you are able to respond. Allowing yourself the freedom to think and formulate answers that articulate your experience and strengths is the most productive way to create a positive impression. Your goal is to sound like someone who can think on their feet rather than to come off sounding rehearsed. The pitfall of spending hours memorizing or rehearsing is to flounder when asked a question that catches you off guard. The contrast in your delivery can have a deleterious effect. So, be prepared but l eave the scripted narrative at home. 3) Brainstorm Key Points This leads to the question, “How do I prepare if not by memorizing answers?” Know that your preparation has been all the hard work you have already done to arrive at the interview. Your goal is to articulate just that. However, you are also encouraged to search online for possible questions. They way to prepare for these anticipated questions is to think about what key points you would hit on in your response, while taking into consideration the information on your application and personal statement. Encapsulate ideas derived from your experience that will produce a compelling response. 4) Become Knowledgeable It is also advisable to go into the interview with some current knowledge of what is going on in healthcare. Healthcare reform, ethical issues including euthanasia, abortion, and stem cell research are challenging topics that may come up during the interview. Current evens are also fair game and may come up on the interview. The New York Times is one credible source to refer to for staying up to date. Having an opinion or ability to comment will contribute to making a positive impression. 5) Dealing with anxiety Feeling anxious is normal! Fighting it will only cause those feelings to escalate. You have worked long and hard for many years. Focus on exercise, meditation or relaxation techniques that will help to ease your anxiety. Your interviewers know you are anxious and are likely to be more forgiving than you might expect. Remember, even if they don’t show it, most applicants are nervous in spite of appearing cool and collected. So, take a deep breath and take it easy on yourself. 6) Pay attention to your non-verbal communication As the old saying goes, “You never get a second chance to make a good first impression,” and non-verbal communication counts! Pay attention that you are appropriately dressed and looking your professional best. You communicate confidence not only by what you say but also through a firm handshake, by looking your interviewer in the eye and maintaining natural eye contact. Finally, don’t forget to smile. hbspt.cta._relativeUrls=true;hbspt.cta.load(215486, '6baac2ae-05a3-4610-9d1f-265c8cbd809f', {});

6 tips on how to help your child develop their handwriting skills

6 tips on how to help your child develop their handwriting skills Handwriting is one of those amazing skills that children learn with practice and patience. It is a difficult and challenging skill to master but an important one; and there are plenty of ways to ensure your child develops their handwriting in a smooth and fun way. Practising is key to the development of a child's handwriting and encouraging small things such as sitting properly and holding the pencil in the correct way are key to ensuring success. Having some handwriting materials at home and incorporating handwriting into a child's daily routine are great ways to assist your child in their handwriting journey. Recording their progress with a reward chart and praising their progression continuously are also vital aspects of developing this important skill. Here are 6 tips that can help your child develop their handwriting skills: 1. Make learning fun I think we can all agree that when a child is having fun whilst learning a new skill their chances of faster progress is a given. Simply offering your child the choice of different coloured pencils or different types of paper is a great way to heighten their interest in an activity. Playing fun word games such as hangman or anagram games and asking them to write the answers instead of simply getting them to copy words will instantly make writing more appealing. 2. Hold the pencil in the right way Learning to hold a pencil in the right way is not as straightforward as it sounds and some children find this task more challenging than other aspects of learning to write. The best place to hold a pen or pencil is to let the pencil rest next to the base of your thumb. There are some fun utensils you can get such as pencil grips which can help your child get used to holding the pencil in the right way. Practising is key here and praise is also an essential part of the learning process. 3. Finger painting Building a child's handwriting skills is not simply a matter of ensuring they hold a writing tool in the right way but also improve and strengthen their muscle skills. Finger painting is a fun and interactive way of building a child's muscles and teaching them to use their imaginations and express themselves freely. Praise your child's art skills when they are finger painting (or drawing shapes in the sand) and encourage them to use their fingers and hands to practice shapes and letters that may need some extra practice. 4. Encourage learning games Learning games will not only help a child develop their handwriting skills but will ensure they also develop their fine-motor skills. Simple tasks such as controlling their writing utensils, learning to sit with the correct posture and developing their coordination can all be implemented through some fun learning games. Fun games such as Jenga where your child will learn that a steadier hand is key to success and other board games that require different muscle building skills will all be beneficial to assisting your child's development. 5. Use the right tools Having the right size writing tool is very important. If your child is struggling with a longer pencil try giving them a shorter pencil and ensure that you encourage them to hold the pencil in the right way. There are also handwriting aids available that can be a great help and they come in all sorts of shapes and sizes; take your child with you and allow them to choose and try until they find one they feel comfortable with. Also make sure your child has a good eraser for rubbing out those mistakes and understanding that mistakes are inevitable but an eraser can get rid of them. 6. Have patience Patience is probably the most important aspect of helping a child develop any skill. Show your child as many times as they need to be shown and praise their efforts along the way. Concentrate on what your child needs according to their age and ability and concentrate on one thing moving forward only when you feel your child is comfortable with what they have learnt. To conclude Making sure your child has a comfortable place to practice their writing and different writing tools to train with can make all the difference to their development. Handwriting is a skill that must be learnt but does not have to be a chore and with some fun and patience can be accomplished in a wonderful way.