Customer Reviews

The Medical School Interview: Secrets and a System for Success

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book isn't just a list of interview questions: it's a way of thinking and approaching the whole process, and a way to get into the interviewers' heads. After realizing that I had the power to conduct my interviews better, this book was like a coach and helped me keep my cool through difficult interviewers. This book is essential to the medical school application process and really offers something unique that I couldn't find in other books (at least, med school application books available at commercial bookstores like Borders).

The author writes a column on the Studentdoctor website so if you'd like to sample the quality of his writing, I'd recommend checking his articles out there.

I would recommend this with The Princeton Review Planning a Life in Medicine for maximum impact.

This book proved to be very helpful in my preparation for the Med. School interviews. The size of it, the structure, and the language of this book make it instrumental for those who are nervous and disoriented in their last days before the interview. Very good book!

I tend to think if you worked through all the excersizes and prep in this book, you would be decidedly less apprehensive.

Basically, its written by an MD who has been part of interviewing process for a number of years, and is just really sipmlifying and demystifying the process. As such, much of the information is basic, but if you didn't think of one of the questions he mentions, you'll be glad you prepared for it. Major points include a lot of inforation that helps you get into the head of your interviewer; and a good number of questions and issues you need to sit down and really think about, and plot out basic responses to; because its clear they will come up in some form.

If you have already created a pretty comprehensive personal inventory of strengths and weaknesses you'll feel comfortable talking about, thoughts on various aspects of medicine (and your motivations and abilities within it), vocational and avocational experiences which demonstrated certain qualities you are trying to broadcast, etc, etc . . . then you may not need it.

Otherwise, this book may jog your memory to create much better prep materials for yourself, so you'll be much more grounded and comfortable when the interview comes.

Dr. Fleenor's book provides a clear, concise, plan for medical school interview success! As a PhD professor in a healthcare professional program, and someone who has served on admissions committees, reviewed hundreds of applications, and interviewed over a hundred students, I feel I can say that this is a resource no medical student applicant should be without. The strategies, if worked through and applied personally, will no doubt increase an applicant's confidence, communication, and poise as they navigate the admissions and interview process. The personal insights and unique stories in the "Tails from the Trail" will inspire many readers that they too can make their dream of becoming a physician a reality!

After the personal statement, the time-consuming task that is organizing and compiling all of one's experiences and education, the endless stream of secondary essays, and countless checks sent and payments made, there lies but one more step between you and an acceptance letter to medical school: the interview.

Without going into the details of Fleenor's book, what "The Medical School Interview" will accomplish can be summed up in a word: confidence. Whether you are the most qualified applicant on paper, or less than stellar, this book carefully walks you through the mental preparation you will need to interview successfully. Read this book and take the time to write down and mentally discuss all it asks and at the end of the day - yes, this relatively short read can easily be worked through in a day - you will find yourself eager to interview, confident in your preparation and anxious to demonstrate why you will become an amazing doctor.

The only requirement this book has can be found at the end of that last sentence; this book will not be useful to you if you do not believe this statement to be true: you are going to be a doctor, and a darn good one at that. Many people have believed that statement, only to go into interviews and fail to show it. Fleenor will help you prepare yourself mentally by showing you the ins and outs of the medical school interview and the greater healthcare system of which it is a part. By breaking down the mystery surrounding the medical school interview, knowing how to organize your thoughts and what exactly you want to demonstrate becomes a clear and achievable goal. My several pages of typed notes and answers to questions and exercises posed in this book traveled with me to every interview I went and are still in a notebook in my possession today. The confidence built by this self-exploratory process cannot be underestimated, excitement replaced nervousness and I found myself feeling in control in interviews when I had previously assumed interviews were meant to work the other way around.

Ultimately, I never attended any medical school interview seminars or mock interview sessions at my undergraduate university. While I am certain they would have done no harm, the confidence and clarity of mind I had about how to tackle virtually any interview question after reading this book left me feeling more than prepared.

In no small part thanks to this book, I received letters of acceptance from every medical school I interviewed at. I start the second half of my first year as a medical student tomorrow and will likely never forget my interview experiences and how enjoyable they were. If I were to run into Dr. Fleenor at some point in the future, odds are I would at the very least say, "thanks."

This seems like a great little book. It explain very strategic and practical ways to prepare (and practice) four your medical school interview. It also goes into the motivations of what the interviewers are really trying to find our throught the interview process.

I gave it a 4 because I think it would have been nice to have something on the MMI (Multiple Mini-Interview) format. Perhaps it's too new a format and isn't used enough (yet) to justify giving it time. But since there is a fair amount of research showing it to provide a better indicator than the traditional format, I would hope that someone would include it at some point.

I purchased this book as recommended by amazon with my MSAR and am very glad I did. This book is a very great, concise review of exactly what adcoms are looking for. The author gives the layman an overview of the admissions process, and then goes into detail about what they expect. He gives you three basic principles that should prevail throughout the interview and puts the various components of the interview into those terms (ie you must impress upon the adcom your strenghts, values, and skills towards medicine, so when they ask you what color best represents your personality, you can frame your answer to express traits that portray a great doctor).

Overall, he makes great use of his experience to give you both great insight, information, and sample Q&As that often come up in interviews. 5/5

I bought this book as I wanted to be as prepared as I could for my medical school interviews. This book is the right length and "density" of information, that is to say it's concise but not too abbreviated.

The most important thing I got from this book was how Dr. Fleenor encourages you to view your interviewer as "on your side," someone who wants to get to know the real you and be an advocate for you who presents you to the admissions committee. That's a great psychological game-changer right there for anyone unsure about the interview process. It made me confident, relaxed, and prepared for every interview I had.

I also think Dr. Fleenor's list of questions you might be asked in your interview are a great inclusion, and you should feel prepared for your interview, as well as feel like you know a little more about the admissions process when you're done reading. In short, this book was a great boost, and I'm really happy to be a medical student at my first-choice school. Good luck to all you applicants!

This book is well worth the price. It is easy to read, concise and full of useful information. I read this book before my first interview for pharmacy school this year. Within one week after the interview, I had an acceptance call! I am so grateful that this book was available. If you want to understand the medical school interview process and be well prepared, this is the book to read.

this is the best book you can buy for getting into any school. what's nice about this book it makes you think and also teaches you the basics of an interview