How to use this
An interview is not a memory test.
It tests three things: how you think when there is no clean answer, whether your reason for medicine holds up out loud, and whether a 17-year-old is ready to commit. And remember who is asking: your interviewer is almost always a physician, and physicians reward a real story and honest reflection over a polished script. Do not memorize answers. Know your stories, then say them to a real person until they sound like you, not a script. Many programs now use the MMI, a series of short timed stations. Those reward structured thinking, which is what the framework below is for.
The Station Method
Five steps for any ethical or situational station.
Programs reward the reasoning, not a “correct” answer. Walk these five steps out loud, every time.
01
Acknowledge the people involved and what is at stake for each.
02
Name the competing values in tension.
03
Gather what you would want to know before deciding.
04
Reason toward a balanced action, weighing the tradeoffs.
05
Decide, and say why. Own it without pretending it is easy.
The one habit that beats all others: reflection practiced out loud. Know your stories, then rehearse with someone who will push back.
The STAR method
For any “tell me about a time” question.
Behavioral questions, a failure, a conflict, a time you led, reward a clear story. Walk these four steps so it lands and never rambles.
S
Situation. Set the scene in a sentence. Where, when, who.
T
Task. The challenge, or what you were responsible for.
A
Action. What you specifically did. Spend most of your time here.
R
Result. The outcome, and what you learned. End on the lesson, not the brag.
Two methods, two question types: use STAR for “tell me about a time” behavioral questions, and the Station Method above for ethical or situational stations.