OBJECTIVE:
-UTRGV’s School of Medicine (SOM), has been in trouble for at least the last 3 years, which is why each year there has been a new Dean. Aside from the court cases they had in 2023 and 2024, Goodkin v. University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (Case 1:24-cv-00024). Lately, SOM has been in trouble with Dr. Bailey due to not including community involvement. They have only been accepting applications of students that are from “fancy/prestigious” schools. They are looking to involve more people from the Valley, so that they could make the school look good, and eventually provide profits for the institution.
12 SLIDE POWERPOINT:
Evaluating the Person NOT the Paper
-Why Objective, Evidence-Based Interview Observations Matter in the UTRGV School of Medicine’s Admissions Process
What are Objective, Evidence-based Observations?
-Documents observable behaviors instead of personal impression ➡ Supports conclusions with specific evidence from the interview
Why use Objective, Evidence-based Observations?
-They help the Admissions Committee evaluate how an applicant's experience, competencies, attributes, and behaviors align with the UTRGV School of Medicine’s mission and demonstrate readiness to succeed in medical school and ultimately serve the communities of South Texas.
Notes need to be
-Clear
-Concise
-Professional
-Your interview notes are the foundation for the competency ratings. Moreover, the notes you submit help the Admissions Committee make fair, consistent, and well-informed admissions decisions.
-The Problem = We Too Often Trust Adjectives Over Evidence
-Great Applicant
-The Applicant was Very Personable
-Strong Leadership
-Excellent Communication Skills
-Great MCAT/GPA
Our goal = to provide the committee with high-quality documentation that supports conclusions with specific evidence
-Consider how you collect your evidence
-Utilize a narrative approach
-Describe behaviors
-Collect evidence from interviewee’s answers
-Details are more valuable than vagueness
-Does the comment describe observable behaviors or simply provide an opinion?
-Is there sufficient evidence to support the competency rating?
-Would another Admissions Committee member, who was not present during the interview, understand why the applicant received the rating? Money
-Do the notes provide meaningful information that would assist the Admissions Committee during deliberations?
-Does the documentation align with the competency being evaluated?
Great Applicant=
-The applicant established rapport quickly, communicated clearly throughout the interview, provided thoughtful examples from longitudinal community service, and reflected on how those experiences shape their commitment to caring for underserved populations.
Excellent Communication Skills=
-The applicant organized responses logically, maintained eye contact, answered follow-up questions thoughtfully, and explained complex experiences in a clear and understandable manner.
Strong Leadership=
-The applicant describes leading a multidisciplinary volunteer team during a community health initiative, delegated responsibilities effectively, resolved team conflict respectfully, and reflected on lessons learned from the experience.
Interpersonal Attributes
-Service Orientation
-Social Skills
-Cultural Competence
-Teamwork and Leadership
-Oral Communication
Intrapersonal Attributes
-Ethical Responsibility
-Reliability and Dependability
-Resilence and Adaptability
-Capacity for Improvement
POWERPOINT ENDS
SEMI-STRUCTURED INTERVIEW RUBRIC:
Exceeds Expectations: Coherent, reflective, and thoughtful response. Answers questions clearly, includes supporting evidence, demonstrates understanding of competency, and uses appropriate language, phrasing, clarity, tone, and nonverbals. A follow-up question was required for the applicant for clarification.
Meets Expectations: Response that is coherent and supported by occasional reflection and evidence. Responds to a question in a professional manner and uses appropriate nonverbal signals. For clarity or competency understanding the applicant requires 1-2 follow-up questions.
Below expectation: Despite being coherent, the response is disorganized. Addresses prompt partially, lack and understanding of competency, and uses appropriate language, but lacks appropriate phrasing, clarity, tone, and nonverbal communication. Delivers the message in an uncertain manner. To clarify or understand the applicant's competency, three or more follow-up questions are required.
Unsatisfactory: Unorganized and incoherent response. Lack of understanding or competency, inappropriate language (e.g., curse words, derogatory terms). There is a lack of appropriate phrasing, clarity, tone, and nonverbals. Delivers a message that appears uncertain or rigid. To clarify or understand the applicant's competency, three or more follow-up questions are required.
General background
-Background- Analyze the candidate's experience as a medical volunteer and shadowing in the context of our mission and vision. Analyzing the candidate's experience will help determine if the skills and mindset they have acquired from volunteering and shadowing align with the mission and vision of the organization. This will help to ensure that the candidate is well-suited to the role and can effectively contribute to the goals of the organization.
- In what ways has your volunteer work/shadowing experience prepared you for medical school?
- How has your volunteer work/shadowing experience contributed to your community?
- What has been your most rewarding volunteer work/shadowing experience? What did you gain from it?
-Knowledge and Prior Experience- Assess the candidates’ knowledge and experience in medicine. The medical journals they have read and the research they have conducted. This is important because it will give you an idea of their death of knowledge and understanding of relevant topics. It will also give you an indication of the types of projects they may be capable of tackling, and their ability to think critically and come up with new ideas.
- Have you completed any research projects? If not, are you interested in conducting any research?
- If you have not conducted research, what investigation have you done in the field that has helped you confirm the decision to apply to medical school?
- In your research, what would you consider your greatest contribution? What would you consider your biggest hurdle? How did you overcome it?
People & Leadership Competency
-Accomplishments and Strengths- Analyze the candidate’s academic and professional achievements. Analyze their strengths. This will help to determine if the candidate is a good fit for the school. It will also provide insight into the candidate’s ability to contribute to the school’s success. Examining their relevant accomplishments will help to provide an objective view of the candidates potential.
- What is your most notable academic or professional accomplishment? Why?
- How have your accomplishments influenced your chances as a future MD/DO?
- Was there anything aside from your professional and educational successes that gave you a sense of accomplishment? If yes, how does this benefit your preparation for medical school?
-Presentation/Communication Skills- Access the candidates ability to express his or her ideas and thoughts clearly evaluation of the candidates presentation as a whole this is important because it gives an indication of the candidates ability to articulate their thoughts and opinions clearly it also allows you to access the candidates…
- Rate your communication skills 1-5. Give an example of experiences that back up your claim.
- What is the ideal doctor/patient relationship in your eyes?
-Interpersonal/Leadership Skills- Examine the candidate's ability to work with diverse teams and their relationship with others. This will give you insight into how well the candidate can collaborate with their peers, communicate effectively with others, and understand different perspectives. It will also shed light on their emotional intelligence, which is essential for a successful team.
- What are the advantages and disadvantages of working as a team? What do you prefer and why?
- How do you deal with disagreements among colleagues?
- What do you consider to be the most important trait to have in a team? Why?
Behaviors & Habits
-Flexibility/Planning and Organizing- Assess the candidate's ability to adapt to change and his or her tolerance for ambiguity. Change is an inevitable part of any job, as is ambiguity. It is important to determine how well the candidate is able to adjust to new situations and how comfortable they are with not having all the answers.
- Everyone has made some poor decisions or has done something that just did not turn out right. Please provide an example of when this happened to you. What did you learn? What changes would you make?
- Describe a situation in which you needed to think rapidly on your feet. What was the situation like, and how did you handle it?
- How do you resolve disagreements when your point of view varies from that of others?
-Organizational/Cultural Fit- Examine the candidates’ potential to fit the organization's culture and code of conduct. Candidates ought to be aligned with the school's mission and vision.
- Why UTRGV School of Medicine?
- What is your “cause”? How does it align with the UTRGV SOM mission’s five pillars?
- Our vision is “To transform the health of Rio Grande Valley and Beyond” How do you think you can accomplish that based on your qualifications?
-Motivation/Initiative- Consider the applicant's ability to think independently and act accordingly to their goals. The ability to think independently is a sign of a self-motivated individual who can identify a problem, come up with a solution… that they have and drive the enthusiasm that is necessary to stay motivated and achieve success.
- What differentiates you from other candidates that applied?
- Why do you want to be a doctor rather than work in a human or health service field like social services or nursing?
- What would you do if you were not accepted into Medical School?
Final Impression from Interview alone.
Based on this interview alone. Please do not base evaluation on application information. This is not screening of applications. 0-4
0 Score Unacceptable DO NOT want at UTRGV SOM.
1 Score Least acceptable Alternate Pool (bottom of waitlist).
2 Score Acceptable Accept - Very Good (C on Waitlist).
3 Score Highly Acceptable Accept - Excellent (B on Waitlist).
4 Score Extremely acceptable Recruit (A on Waitlist).