Mock interview of clinical medicine students effecting on further preparation for real job interview

Abstract

Objective Mock interview provides candidates with a context for better preparing for real job interviews. However, there’s little information about mock interview for clinical medicine students available in the literature. A mock interview was carried out to improve the medical students’ confidence and explore an effective method of career training. Methods A short mock interview was designed in Peking Union Medical College (PUMC) for the 7-year clinical medicine students. In the activity, students rotated role-playing duties as interviewer and interviewee. Students were asked to complete a questionnaire anonymously afterwards to assess the impact of the experience. Results A total of 33 students without former experience of any mock interview nor other disciplines completed their mock interview. All students thought the mock interview necessary and helpful for their future job interview, and reported that they had their quality improved after the mock interview (100%, 33/33). Students benefited from exposure to different roles as interviewer, interviewee and observer, and gained a good perspective on their strengths and weaknesses. Mock interview were ranked number one among a series of interview related programs. Conclusions Mock interview helped clinical medicine students on further preparation for real job interviews. Key words: Clinical medicine; Medical student; Mock interview; Real job interviews; Impression