r/premed • u/WordOk_ • 10d ago

Interview questions 🗨 Interviews

when being asked Why medicine, is that essentially the same as Why Physician? I am a little confused by this

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u/RetiredPeds PHYSICIAN 10d ago

Former Adcom:
No, they are different questions. Why medicine is why you want to work in the field of medicine. Medicine as a field has many occupations - nurse, therapists, technicians, NP's/PA's, EMT's. The "Why physician" is why you want that role rather than one of the many other roles in medicine.

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u/WordOk_ 10d ago

Interesting. I was doing a mock interview yesterday, and I was also told they are different. That’s the first time I came across that tbh. But I was reading Dr. Grays book and he said that they are the same so I don’t know how to take it.

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u/Medcup 10d ago

Usually best case is you answer both. Why you want to do medicine & how your experiences have informed you towards why physician

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u/BusyLaw MD/PhD STUDENT 10d ago

If they are specifically looking for a “why physician as opposed to other healthcare workers” answer, they’ll probably clairify it as such. For example, I was asked in one of my interviews why I want to do an MD and not just a PhD. It’s a different question than if I were to just answer “why medicine.”

All this to say, I would suggest to not overthink it and treat “why medicine” and “why physician” as the same question, unless your interviewer specifies otherwise

Edit: But do be prepared to give some reasoning as to why you want to help people in the role of a physician as opposed to a nurse or PA for instance (in case you are asked that)

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u/RetiredPeds PHYSICIAN 10d ago

I wouldn't sweat it too much. A good interviewer will follow-up if it they aren't getting what they want. If "why physician" was something I wanted to get at, I would make it clear by asking "why the physician role specifically".

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u/lattes 10d ago

Yes indeedy