Residency Mock Interview
Prepare for 43 Residency interview questions covering clinical scenarios, patient care philosophy, and program fit.
Question 9 of 43
While attending medical school, what fascinated you most about your cadaver?
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Internal Medicine
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Rachelle Enns is an interview coach and job search expert. She works with candidates to perform their best in employment, medical, and post-secondary admission interviews.
For many medical students, working with cadavers for the first time is a life-changing experience. The interviewers would like to understand what intrigued you most during your cadaver workshops in medical school to get some insight into what will drive you as a resident with their program.
Rachelle Enns is an interview coach and job search expert. She works with candidates to perform their best in employment, medical, and post-secondary admission interviews.
"The experience of cadaver observation and dissection is incredible. It's hard to think of just one most fascinating point! I most enjoyed exploring and discovering every skeletal muscle. The human body is amazing."
Ryan Brunner has over ten years of experience recruiting, interviewing, and hiring candidates in the healthcare, public service, and private manufacturing/distribution industries.
You can keep your answer brief, but be specific and express your passion for learning when you answer this question. Your interviewers ideally want to hear that you enjoyed the cadaver experience and that you can take what you learned with them into residency and your future career as a physician.
Dr. Shani Saks is a board-certified internist and cardiologist in private practice.
The dissection of a cadaver afforded me a deep look into the human body that many never witness. I also was amazed and so thankful that this person had enough trust and belief in me as to donate his body to enable my training.
"I felt very appreciative that someone was so kind to donate their body after death so that I could learn and help others. Their action helped propel medical knowledge forward for the next generation."
"The beauty, complexity, and mystique of neuroanatomy. I was always intrigued by the different neural pathways, how they interact, and how they form embryologically. I am excited to expand upon this knowledge as a radiology resident."
Sara Yumeen is a Dermatology resident physician.
"As medical students, we were all very grateful for those that had donated their bodies so that we may learn from them, and help patients in the future. I was most interested by the intricate system of skin, muscles, and nerves that allows us to move and experience the world around us, and I hope through dermatology residency I will have the opportunity to learn about the largest organ - the skin!"
"I was most amazed that someone had been so kind as to offer the ultimate gift of their body for the advancement and betterment of medical education to total strangers. I know that such a choice was not easy to make and was likely a difficult conversation to have with their families when they reached that decision. It was extremely humbling to consider that choice during our dissection labs and I will always be grateful and appreciative of that gift from what we called our "first patient"."
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I believe the way how our body is built is fascinating. When every small or big part has a function, it is there for a reason.
After I saw it for the first time a corpse, I was trying to make sense to connect anatomy with physiology.
Chad's Feedback
Great job! You've kept your answer brief and shared what intrigued you most during your cadaver workshops in medical school.
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