UW Medical School Questions
Tell me about yourself.
If you were to be admitted, what strengths would you bring to next year’s incoming class?
What motivates you to be a physician? (and please say something other than “to help people”)
What specialties are you considering? Why?
Tell me about a physician you admire and discuss which of his/her traits you’d like to emulate.
What is your take on the Death with Dignity law recently passed in Washington?
What do you consider to be the weakest part of your application? Why is it weak?
Why medical school and not social work, nursing, EMT, etc?
Tell me about a time when you communicated well to a patient (or, if no experience with patients, then in general).
What would you do if a patient in your clinic needed care but could not afford it and didn’t have health insurance?
What would you do if you recommended a particular medication to a patient and he/she doesn’t want to take it?
What do you consider to be the biggest concern facing the medical community in the US today?
What are some of your ideas for addressing the aforementioned issues?
Do you feel that you are a well-rounded individual and, if so, could you give us some evidence of that?
How do you deal with stress?
How do you think you could continue working with distressed people and yet not get burned out? (Or, if in research,
working under all of that pressure . . . )
What will you do if you don’t get into medical school this year?
Why do you want to attend UWMC in particular?
Do you make mistakes? What have you learned from your mistakes?
What books have you read recently? Magazines? Journals?
You are a doctor with one liver to give three patients: a woman with an auto-immune disease who has a small child, a
young man who is a reformed drug addict, and an older man who is a reformed alcoholic whose family depends on
him. Who do you give the liver to, and how do you break the news to the people you decided not to give the liver?
What do you do in your spare time?
How many schools did you apply to and where have you interviewed?
What would you do if a patient of yours needed an immediate surgery which only you could give him and which he
couldn’t afford until his insurance became effective in 72 hours -- would you write a false date on the insurance claim?
When you think about becoming a physician, what most scares you?
What negative things have you seen while shadowing doctors?
What aspect of medical school do you think will be difficult for you?
What past achievement makes you the most proud?
What was the most difficult ethical decision you’ve faced? How did you resolve it?
Situation: You are a family practice physician and your long-time patient tests positive for HIV. He asks you not to tell
his wife, who is also your long-time patient. What would you do?
How do you handle conflict?
If I were to consult on a case of acute appendicitis on a child, but the parents did not want an operation (they wanted
to use prayer instead) what would I do?
What non-science class did you most enjoy in school?
What are two recent science or medical headlines you’ve heard or read?
If you could have any superpower, which one would you choose?
Tell us about your research experience.
If you were the editor of Time magazine, who would you name Person of the Year? Why?
Why do you think we should choose to admit you over another applicant with the same qualifications?
Do you have any questions for me?
UWSOM Interview: http://www.uwmedicine.org/education/md-program/admissions/applicants/pages/interview.aspx
UW Bioethics Web Page: https://courses.washington.edu/mhe511/
Medical school interview feedback: http://studentdoctor.net