Written by Viet Tran

Interview Question Bank

When interviewing for a medical job, there are two things to keep in mind:

1. How can you make your attributes align with the job description?
2. What makes you the better candidate?

Guiding Principles

• Be succinct and coherent - pause before answering if you have to! It's ok I'm very nervous and  need to take a moment
• Structured answers are easier to follow (and mark)
  • Some people use the TEEL structure, but there are others out there:
    • TEEL: Topic, Explain, Evidence, Link
      
• Use personal experiences - these are memorable, relatable, powerful
• Be yourself/honest but DO NOT be modest - you're here to showcase your talents, so is everyone else...What makes you stand out? But remember to use evidence, not platitudes, interviewers see right through this
• If they don't ask a question then create a chance to tell them
• Listen to the questions and answer them
• Come back to the question if you remember something
• End on a strong note 

Put your best foot forward

• Dress well
• Look confident - use eye contact and smile!
• Prepare
  • Research the position
  • Speak to colleagues to personal your responses to the department/unit/program you're applying for
  • Meet with the prospective employer to get a feel for what sort of candidate they want - this may be the director of training, the director of the department etc - this is fair game! 
• Practice, Practice, Practice
  • Do it until it doesn't feel silly
  • Record yourself on audio or video - and ask for feedback
  • Ask non-medical people to ask you questions

The Aftermath

• Always ask for feedback!

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A framework for answering questions

Medical Interviews, from interns to staff specialists, often revolve around the same recipe. For transparency, most public jobs are also scored against a matrix with some flexibility via a global score - keep this in mind when you try and cover the content/address the questions.

The 'recipe' goes something like this:

1. Why do you want to work here?
2. What can you bring to the job?
3. An administrative/leadership question
4. An awareness question

1. Why do you want to work here?

You've obviously got your reasons for applying for one department over another. A lot of this will have to do with you as a person. So show them who you are. Moreso, do your research and show them why who you are aligns with what the department is! ​

2. What can you bring to the job?

This is interviewing 101. If you don't get a permutation of this question, you probably had an absence seizure! 

To approach this question you need to know the answer. What does the department want? What does it need? How do my attributes, expertise or interests fill or support this gap? How do I find the answers to these? To that end - make a time to meet with the director and ask, point blank, these questions. Then ask all the stakeholders of the department. Seems like overkill, but this dance is so much bigger than the fellowship exam, so invest time in preparing for it!

It may seem daunting, but having this insight gives you the ability to wax lyrical about your attributes in the context of the department you're applying for...and that's the key to ticking the boxes, being memorable to the interviewers, and getting a job!

3. An administrative question

You're a FACEM and at least 25% of your FTE will be clinical support (as per ACEM guidelines), not to mention how much of your 'clinical' time is spent on administrative procedures! An administrative question enables layered responses from what understanding the candidate has of the system and how they can manage it. Most recruitment teams will acknowledge the FACEM as 'at standard' for the clinical aspects of the job, and what they really want is to recruit for the non clinical aspects. So have some ideas in terms of the immediate situation, the department, the town/city, the state and the country

4. An awareness question

This question often crops up, seeking and understanding of your engagement with the emergency profession. It could be something like 'where do you see ED as a profession in 5 years?' or 'what is the responsibility of ED in terms of bullying and harassment?'

Make sure you have the facts for the latest issues and controversies facing FACEMS at large. 

The other non clinical question that often crops up includes medical education and research - so have ideas how you might address them too