An interview is a key component of the medical school application process. During the interview, the admissions committee will in all likelihood ask you, “Why medicine?”
No matter how good your test scores are or how compelling you are as an applicant, before offering you a position in their incoming class, medical schools want to make sure you have made a well-informed decision about entering the medical field.
[Discover six red flags medical school isn’t the right choice.]
Articulating an answer to this all-too-common question requires careful reflection in advance. As with other interview questions, we discourage you from memorizing a response ahead of time.
That said, taking time to think about your response and developing an overall strategy prior to the interview can help. Here are four points to keep in mind as you prepare for this question.
1. Clearly state your reasons: It may sound obvious, but too often applicants forget to explicitly state their reasons for wanting to go into medicine. Instead they start with a long answer about their own personal experience receiving medical care, the loss of a loved one or their clinical volunteer experiences.
Too often interviewers are left trying to read between the lines and infer what draws you to medicine. Before incorporating any of these narratives into your response, make their job easier and stand out by starting your answer with a succinct list of reasons you’re drawn to the medical profession.
Start by saying, “I want to be a physician because,” and then state your reasons, such as citing an interest in medical science.
[Prepare answers to frequently asked medical school interview questions.]
2. Draw on experiences as evidence: Once you have stated your reasons, reflect on experiences that led you to each of these. Use these experiences to demonstrate that you are making an informed decision.
If, for example, you argue that one reason for going into medicine is your passion for medical science, refer to experiences where you discovered how intriguing the field could be. Perhaps it was a shadowing experience with a primary care physician, where you found yourself wanting to understand the underlying causes and treatment approaches for common conditions like diabetes.
Or perhaps during a physiology course you learned how various organs function and became intrigued with medical science.
[Read six tips for discussing research experiences in medical school interviews.]
3. Don’t sound too altruistic: Your reasons for going into medicine must sound compelling to your interviewer.
One way to achieve this is by not limiting yourself to a desire to be altruistic. If your only stated motive for wanting to become a doctor is to help others or make a difference, you will leave your interviewer wondering why, among all the different ways that you can help people, you have chosen medicine.
Teaching, nursing, law enforcement and social work would also allow you to help people. So why not enter one of those professions?
Wanting to give back is a great reason for pursuing the medical profession, but by itself, it is not enough to convince the admissions committee that medicine is the right career for you. Combine this with other reasons — such as your interest in medical science — to show why you are uniquely drawn to medicine.
4. Focus on clinical care: As you articulate reasons for going into medicine, make sure you emphasize your passion for clinical care. In other words, consider what being a practicing clinician entails and demonstrate reasons that show you like clinical care.
As a physician, you get to interact with people every day, apply medical knowledge and provide counseling and care. You must demonstrate to the admissions committee that you are interested in clinical activities that are part and parcel of being a practicing physician.
Sometimes, applicants state that they want to become physicians for reasons that are not directly related to patient care. For example, some say they want to enter the medical field to reduce disparities in access to health care or to find cures to disease. While these are noble desires and many physicians are engaged in these activities, you do not necessarily need medical training to pursue these efforts.
You can mention these as secondary reasons, but your primary reason for wanting to go into medicine should be about the opportunities and privileges that patient care would afford you. This is why it is paramount to shadow physicians and learn about patient care before applying to medical school.
Many applicants worry that their response to this question will come across as generic. Keep in mind that while your reasons are likely to overlap with those of other applicants, the way you draw on your own experiences will make your answer stand out.
More from U.S. News
Use Medical School Interviews to Address Weaknesses
Medical School Interviews May Cover Obamacare
Explore Disaster Training as a Prospective Medical Student
Prepare to Address Medical School Motivations in Interview originally appeared on usnews.com