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Stupid things done in medical interviews.

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Reply 20

Carnationlilyrose

Original post by Entangled

If it's a laugh you want:

Oh, brilliant! I'd forgotten all about this! Used to show it to my students for a bit of light relief!

Reply 21

jus2sik

Original post by Somerandomstudent

This happened at a job interview and hopefully won't at any possible medical interviews. The interviewer asked me "What is your greatest weakness?" to which I suddenly replied "Kryptonite".

It was an awful awful moment; he never understood the reference so I looked like an idiot and never got the job. I didn't even mean to say it - the word just popped out. So embarassing... :frown:

I went for a job at a local GP's office for a part time receptionist. Interview was going well until they asked me if I had a police record, I stupidly blurted out WALKING ON THE MOON. They didnt get the reference and they asked me to leave, even after I tried to explain the joke I took from only fools and horses, they didnt want to hear it :eek:

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 22

username739587

Original post by Besakt

Thought it would be nice to get a thread going on how people have accidently messed up in interviews so others people don't repeat and we can learn from it and also have a good laugh. :biggrin:

I'll start off I know a friend who got an interview at Oxbridge not sure which one but he started arguing with the interviewer about how the question was unfair, he got rejected but already had an offer from Birmingham so it was okay. :lol:

My stupid moment was wearing one navy sock, and one black sock. I left my house when it was dark, and my room is dimly lit. Needless to say I aced my interview, but they declined me for shoddy dress sense.

A friend of mine was incredibly boring at a cambridge interview
One of his interviewers slowly slid down his chair as the interview progressed, and my friend didn't notice until this guy was sitting on the floor. He didn't get in.

Edit: Not a med interview, but when one of my sisters was being interviewed for cambridge, the interviewer said something a little mocking, so she stood up, shouted that if he couldn't be bothered to take the interview seriously, then she couldn't be bothered to waste her time, and walked out. 2 days later she got a phonecall saying she had a place. (this was about 25 years ago though).

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 23

username570224

Original post by stroppyninja

Love your sig xD

Reply 24

Samy

My friend went to an interview for aberdeen last year and when he was asked "What steps have you taken to try to find out whether you really do want to become a doctor?"

He replied something like, well I came to this interview didnt I?

Needless to say, he was rejected after interview LOL

Reply 25

Ashfully

Wished the interviewers a Merry Christmas on Dec 1st :colondollar:

Then asked if it was too soon to which they replied yes :colondollar:

Reply 26

scigrad

Original post by PatrickD

Judging by your sig. this clearly didn't matter! :biggrin:

At her Birmingham interview for Medicine, my sister told the interviewers she was a Catholic (it was relevant to the question asked) and they basically attacked her because of it, asking her whether she would pray for a patient instead of treating them medically (which is frankly a stupid question). It didn't make a difference because she answered the question quite simply and got an offer as a result. Probably not the best thing to tell them though as they'll pick up on everything. In the end she accepted Sheffield and is there now. :smile:

It's a valid questions and not as stupid as you might think.

Reply 27

PatrickD

Original post by scigrad

It's a valid questions and not as stupid as you might think.

Someone who wants to be a doctor, and just happens to be a Catholic, would obviously treat a seriously ill/dying patient. Prayer is extremely important to us but if physical help can be given then it obviously is. The idea is that God has helped by providing the skill of doctors and the availability of drugs - we don't just expect him to cure an ill patient with no help from doctors.

To be honest, I think they just wanted to check whether her religion actually had much bearing at all. It might do in the case of abortion but doctors have the right to refuse to authorise abortions anyway. The question they asked wasn't exactly tough to answer as the correct answer was so obvious. She would, of course, help patients as much as possible and this is what she said = offer.

Reply 28

minacolada

Original post by dunnicare

I was told by the a UCL admissions tutor that in an interview an applicant put his feet up on the table and said "so when do I start". His dad was a doctor at the hospital there so he thought it meant automatic offer.

It didn't. REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEJECTED! :lol:

Surely if he was applying for a degree the answer would obviously be Sept/Oct next year :confused:

Reply 29

TattyBoJangles

It's not anything my dad did, but during his dentistry interview at "Guys" (now KCL), there was apparently a man hidden behind a plant in the corner of the room.
He answered a few questions from the main interviewer and then said, "I don't suppose your colleague behind the plant would like to ask me any questions?" in a nonchalant manner.
Just the thought of finding an interviewer behind a plant makes me laugh :B

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 30

Lord Jon

Original post by PatrickD

Judging by your sig. this clearly didn't matter! :biggrin:

Thats a bit of a silly question. Slightly ignorant if you ask me. I know I wouldnt pray as opposed to treat a paitent.

Original post by Helenia

At my Cambridge interview, we were discussing hormones and endocrine/exocrine secretion. Got onto insulin, had to explain why it can't be taken orally, and then they asked me if I could think of any hormones that could be taken orally. In my head I was going "The Pill! THE PILL!!!!" but then a little voice was saying "But these are really old men, and they're Cambridge dons, they can't be asking me about SEX..." so I just sat there going red and umming for a fair time until they put me out of my misery (for the record, steroids is a less embarrassing alternative answer). Worked out ok in the end though. :smile:

They ask you such sciencey/medically related questions like that in interview?

LOL. The pill.

Sex. :teehee:

Reply 31

Harbour Seal

Original post by Agent Smirnoff

Thats a bit of a silly question. Slightly ignorant if you ask me. I know I wouldnt pray as opposed to treat a paitent.

They ask you such sciencey/medically related questions like that in interview?

LOL. The pill.

Sex. :teehee:

I would've just said the pill :ahee:

"You know, the contraceptive pill, the one that stops you getting up the duff with a bun in the oven."

During my Dundee interview I nearly cried after the the 7th station. I was so stressed out I mentioned childbirth and that I "Wasn't good enough for medicine" and that "I have no idea why Dundee offered me an interview". It ended up with this particular interviewer telling me that I was obviously a really good applicant and inspirational. Felt more like a therapy session.

Getting beta blockers this year to stop the panic I think.

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 32

kingcoltzan

Original post by dunnicare

I was told this one at the open day as well this year :biggrin:

The key factor however, was that the boy was from ETON :biggrin:

Reply 33

colabottles

Well crying in my Birmingham interview was probably the stupidest thing I did at interview :lol:

Also in my Sheffield interview they asked me how I'd set up a health campaign in my school... out of pure nervousness I replied 'I'd promote a balanced diet... because obese people don't want to eat carrots all day' o.O

Oh I also stuck out the wrong hand to shake in Sheffield which was intensely awkward.

Needless to say I was rejected from both of those. :lol:

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 34

such_a_lady

This is terrifying me :lol:

I'm one of those people who jabbers away in tense situations, and I'm so nervous that if I get an interview for German, I'll refer to my A2 set text as "Ich fühl mich so scheiße scheiße" (the book is called "Ich fühl mich so fifty fifty", meaning "I feel so 50-50"...I make a pun and call it "I feel so sh*tty sh*tty because it's a terrible book imo) because that's how I refer to it to my friends, or say something is "geil" or "hammer" (two really slangy words, the first one also can mean "horny" :sigh:

) ... quite scared now.

Reply 35

dunnicare

Original post by minacolada

Surely if he was applying for a degree the answer would obviously be Sept/Oct next year :confused:

He was trying to be smug/cocky.

Reply 36

halide

Original post by jus2sik

I went for a job at a local GP's office for a part time receptionist. Interview was going well until they asked me if I had a criminal record, I stupidly blurted out WALKING ON THE MOON. They didnt get the reference and they asked me to leave, even after I tried to explain the joke I took from only fools and horses, they didnt want to hear it :eek:

Oh lawdy lawdy. Some people have no humour... :frown:

If I was interviewing you, at that point I'd have called off the interview and given you a job straight up.

Worst thing I did was walk back into the room after the interview and forcefully accuse the examiner of stealing my coat.
To be fair, his coat looked just like mine, and mine had been moved from the waiting room.
Needless to say, I did not get an offer there..

Reply 37

dunnicare

Original post by kingcoltzan

I was told this one at the open day as well this year :biggrin:

The key factor however, was that the boy was from ETON :biggrin:

Ah yes. I was told the story a really long time ago. Can't believe I forgot that.

Reply 38

blacklistmember

Original post by Godin_D

when i went in for an the interveiwer told me to relax and told me the story of apparently one boy who had been told to stand out at his medical interveiw and have something to make the interveiwer remember him. So when asked what his hobbies are apparently one of his answers was kissing and cuddling :P

hey, i think ive heard of this. wasnt it an oxbridge interview?

Reply 39

Helenia

Original post by Agent Smirnoff

They ask you such sciencey/medically related questions like that in interview?

LOL. The pill.

Sex. :teehee:

Both my Cambridge interviews were almost entirely science-based questions. This is fairly standard for Cambridge, though different colleges do vary slightly in the number of interviews and whether one is "science" and one is "personal."