Swansea University Medicine Interview Questions

General Interview Information
Interview Format (Historically)
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You'll first sit a 30-minute written assessment, similar to a situational judgement test.  This is followed by two oral interviews each around 20 minutes long: one with a practising clinician and a lay-member of the community; the other with an academic and a medical student.  The interviews are not tests of your scientific or medical knowledge; they are conversations that aim to bring out the best in you.
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The interview process is designed to take account of the personal and academic qualities needed as a doctor, as set out in ‘Good Medical Practice’, and the capacity to meet the outcomes of ‘Tomorrows Doctors’. In summary, these are:
  • Communication Skills
  • Problem-solving skills
  • Coping with pressure
  • Insight and Integrity
  • Passion for medicine/resilience to succeed

 
​COVID-19 Update for 2021
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Swansea will be running its interviews online for the 2021 intake. They will use Zoom. There will also be a written component that will be completed remotely. 


Before the Interview​​
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  • Reread your personal statement and make sure that you know it thoroughly.
  • Reflect on your work experience – you need to demonstrate that you have attempted to get a realistic understanding of what working as a doctor entails through work experience.
  • Research the curriculum at Swansea, and what aspects of it appeals to you, e.g. their integrated spiral curriculum, learning from clinical cases, small numbers of students.
  • Ensure that you know the four pillars of medical ethics and how to apply them to a clinical situation.
  • Keep up-to-date with medical news and other issues which affect the medical community.
  • Research the Welsh NHS, and how it compares to the NHS elsewhere in the UK.
  • Practice mock interviews with family, friends and Interview Specialists ensuring that you receive detailed feedback on your answers. This will allow you to gain more confidence in answering questions and will hopefully relieve some of the pressure of the interview.


Common Interview Questions

General/Personal Statement Questions
  • What kind of doctor do you want to be?
  • What made you want to be a doctor?
  • A lot of the points that you've brought up are also found in nursing, have you also considered this as a career?
  • If your application was unsuccessful, what would you do?
  • What is your biggest mistake?
  • Diagnosing conditions is like a jigsaw puzzle. Have you got the skills to work through complex information?
 
Ethical questions
  • What do you do if a 14-year-old girl asks you to prescribe the contraceptive pill?
  • What is your view on medically-assisted euthanasia?
 
Communication-based questions
  • How do you communicate appropriately with people from different walks of life?
  • How would you tell someone something life-changing?
 
Insight into Medicine
  • What are the key attributes which make a good doctor?
  • How would you cope with balancing conflicting pressures without compromising patient safety?
  • Being a doctor is stressful. How would you make sure that you look after your own wellbeing?
  • How would you react if something had gone wrong with a patient?


Medicine Interview Mark Schemes
​Click Here (Available to UKCAT/BMAT/MMI Interview Course Attendees)
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