Dental School Interview course for foreign trained dentists

Online interview are not easier or difficult than personal interview, rather they need a little different presentation skills. 

How to get ready for an online and personal interview? I already covered some aspects of presenting yourself during personal interview, but it is important and new to learn the 6 important steps in preparation for an online interview.

Just like we created a story and biography for yourself in the previous video, let's not forget that the dental school you are interviewed for also has a story, mission, vision, values, dean, popular faculty members, research topics, current citations, class size, alumni you know, interesting events, contributions, etc. It is important to conduct a thorough and well structured research about the school where you are being interviewed. I will show you how to conduct such extensive research in most efficient and easy way.

SECRET to win an interview is by knowing what the interview panel is looking for, what their rubric says, and what keywords are they searching for. Let's learn in this part what exactly the interview panel is waiting to hear from you. Here are some common words/impressions-

1. Communication: does the applicant have excellent communication skills?

2. Conscientiousness: is the applicant thorough, careful to do tasks well?

3. Integrity : is the applicant honest with themselves and others?

4. Judgment and analysis: does the applicant have the capability to make sound judgments? Do they gather all the facts before making a decision?

5. self-control : Does the applicant remain calm and in control in difficult situations?

6. sensitivity to others : Does the applicant show empathy towards others? Do they take the feelings of others into consideration?

7. Tact and diplomacy : Does the applicant show sensitivity in dealing with difficult issues? Does the applicant possess the necessary skills to deal with others without causing negative feelings?

Let's learn about power of story telling. I will help you write your personal story to prepare yourself for most of the questions that will be asked during your interview. Go back to the resource pdf file provided and let's get started with writing your biography.

STAR stands for Situation, Tasks, Action & Results

So we can see that STAR is just (another) clever acronym for a bigger idea, but let’s take a second and break down exactly what each letter means specially in terms of dental school interview-

Situation:

Think of a situation similar to what the interviewer is asking you about that had a successful outcome. It doesn’t necessarily have to be work related as long as it’s relevant. Remember to include the who, what, where, when and how.

Task:

Describe the task you were responsible for in that situation. Keep it specific but concise. Make sure to highlight any specific challenges you faced.

Action:

This is the part where you describe exactly what you did. How did you complete the task you were assigned? Remember to focus on what you did and highlight traits (qualities) that dental school interview panel will find desirable (initiative, teamwork, leadership, dedication, focused, etc.)

Result:

This is where you get to be introspective. Remember, you are HERO of your story. Share what the outcome of the situation was and how you specifically contributed to that outcome. What did you accomplish? What did you learn? What were the results of your actions?

~ Alternative questions- Tell me about your work and personal experience/journey so far.

Learn about Present, Past, and Future style - a nice story to remember- give them exact summary of your life- in 1-2 minutes, describe yourself in the best and holistic way- make sure to write down your answer in the fillable pdf file provided. Tie your about me story to DDS program, make it focused and concise, to show how you are a perfect fit for this program.

Stay humble (not arrogant) but bring all relevant qualities that will make you a good student in DDS program (not a dentist already, student).

Dont say my father, my daughter, my family, my passion for dentistry......NO

Some examples-  Emotional intelligence (relationship, feelings, connection, body language, respectful communication, know about weakness in people, calm and composed in stressful situation, Lifelong learning, quick learning, tech savvy.etc

Remember, we are interviewing for DDS program. Do not bring a weakness out on table which might go against what the interview panel is looking for. Highlight one of your strengths that can be your weakness too, like being too competitive, too independent/ avoid asking for help, too focused/stubborn on a goal /don't quit easily, over-emotional about people you care (patients, relatives, friends, etc. Make sure to write your weakness and info around it in the fillable pdf provided.

This entire section is very important to reflect upon and is biggest aspect of interview process- to find out motivation of the candidate.

This is another most commonly asked question in the dental school interview. It directly reflects on your personal motivation. Multiple alternative questions can be-

q. Why do you want to become a dentist?

q. What is best part about becoming a dentist?

q. Why did you become a dentist in your home country and why do you want to become a dentist in this country, again?

Firstly, knowing difference between long term and short term goals is important. Let's connect all the answers from previous question and connect dots with your long term and short term goals.

This is a way to ask what do you want to become in future. Your role model reflects on your future aspiration, motivation, and goals. Let's learn more about it.

Here, you will forecast your future and show that you have a clear vision for your own future.

Alternative question- how do you imagine your future? What would you most like to do in future?

Your answer should be holistic. Make sure you talk about-

• Your Personal growth

• Your Professional growth

• COMMUNITY OUTREACH 

• Entrepreneurship options

• Your family or relationship growth

• Which city/place do you see yourself?

This is a very tricky question. We must stay modest, humble, but still make sure to highlight our great qualities. Review your notes on the fillable pdf and highlight all soft-skills that you wrote about yourself, so far.

I hope you had an opportunity to reflect on your motivation towards dentistry and everything in life.

The interviewers are trying to learn what do you know about this dental school and its DDS DMD program. Now you will thank me for all the research you did or learned how to do as shown in the previous video.

What will you do if you're not accepted for our program, this year or ever?

Alternative question- What do you know about our DDS DMD program?

CAUTION- This can be a very tricky question depending on what you consider to be your weakest point. If they ask about academic failure, you might feel a need to address some failure which you should not bring out during this interview. Let's learn how to answer such questions.

Alternate question- how do you relieve stress after a situation (or after a difficult day at work/school)?

Think about all your favorite things to do- meditation, running, swim in lake, play with my baby, gardening, etc.

Alternative question- give an example of the last time when you had multiple deadlines and responsibilities crammed in short time and how did you manage it?

Think of- becoming a parent, daughter learned how to bike (after I broke my back almost), helping someone through a transformation, not-for-profit work, etc.

You have to think of something bigger.

Always say- I thrive in competition, it keeps me on my feet. I seek competitive challenges all the time, learn new sports and skill because of this attitude. Keep it straight!

These are very important bunch of questions in MMI, CDA structured interview, and almost every interview for dental school will include one question from this section.

This is an open ended question where you bring the problem and a solution with it. Show how you were hero of that situation, how organized and focused you are. Show your interpersonal communication as well as critical problem solving skills in these type of questions. Remember, STAR method is your best friend here.

Alternative questions- The night before your final exam, your father had a heart attack/ best friend roomie had a breakup, friend's accident and admitted to the hospital, pet's surgery, etc, what would you do?

Alternative question- you spend 3 weeks on an assignment, dedicated a huge time and effort towards it, and you felt its your best work. Still, your professor give you all negative comments and very low mark. What would you do?

~Tell us about a time when you came into conflict with a teacher/ professor. How did you resolve this conflict? What did you learn that would help you in similar future events?

~If your entire class don't like a professor. how would you manage this situation as class president?

Situation- your dental assistant is intercepting while you are talking with patient/ your dental associate bring case when you are busy / receptionist talking while you are behind schedule, etc. situations.

Alternative questions-

~You are a leader for a group, one of team members is really slow and doesn’t understand the project; other team members say that we should exclude her from our group. What would you do?

~You are working on group project for a DDS course. One partner is not showing up for meetings and project falls behind. You finish his/her part as well and spend all your free time on it. How would you deal with this situation?

~Tell us a time when you had to deal with someone where language was a barrier. Give an example explaining how you dealt with that situation

~ If you have a patient who is 70 year old and can only speak Arabic in your dental school opd. How would you communicate with the patient?

Try answering each of the following questions and make detailed notes on it. I ask these questions during mock interviews and these are often most tricky to answer during an interview.

1. How do you treat / tackle Elderly patients

2. How do you treat / handle Child/ kid patients

3. You are a dentist, you are treating a child in front of her parents. when the parents left the room, the child starts crying. what would you do?

4. How do you treat/handle upset / difficult patient- (no discounts)

5. How do you treat/handle patient with disability/ mental illness/ etc

6. How do you deal will Terminally ill patients?

After watching this video, start drafting a reply for each of the following. Practice well before our scheduled mock interview since I will always ask you one of these questions during the mock-

1. Tell your patient what’s written in their referral report/medical report (from specialist )

2. Explain treatment options to patient after receiving serious diagnosis from specialist.

3. What would you do if person from different culture in your team and they didn't get ur point?

4. Explain your patient about-

• a. Root canal treatment

• b. Difference between Amalgam and Composite filling

• c. Crown after RCT

• d. Fixed bridge

• e. Implant supported prosthesis

• f. Removal partial denture

• g. Perio surgery

  
  

Situation- Your dental assistant is late for work, missing out work, careless, low performance. What would you do? (also if you see someone stealing from office or school)

Remember, don't jump to conclusions and avoid being judgmental.

alt question- what is hardest thing to deal with patients in dentistry-

ans- unrealistic expectations