USM dentistry interview

Other applicants' alternative becomes my only option.  #usmdentistry #interview2016

It's May and that means there's gonna be USM interview. I have waited for this interview for many days and nights and the success of this interview will mean a monumental step towards my dream of being a dentist.

Ten days earlier, I received a message that I had got an offer for the dental interview from USM (Universiti Sains Malaysia). I don't have any backup plan so this interview means everything to me. Firstly, it is the only public university in Malaysia that offers dentistry for A-level students. Next, my parents couldn't afford the staggeringly expensive tuition fees and expenses of a private university. In short, it is my only hope for my dentist dream. (It sounds distressing but it's the bloody truth)

I checked on the USM website and I was told to bring all of my original certificates and the slip for the interview. That slip gave me details about the venue, the date and the time. It read,

PROGRAM PENGAJIAN  : SD00 - IJAZAH DOKTOR PERGIGIAN

TARIKH                              : 5/5/2016

MASA                                 : 8.15 PAGI
TEMPAT                          : HOTEL RIVERSIDE MAJESTIC, KUCHING, SARAWAK

As to the dress code, well, it stated ' Sila hadir dengan berpakaian kemas'. Going by that, I assumed every male candidate would spruce themselves up in formal attire with a tie. On the other hand, ladies could opt to don a Baju Kurung or a formal attire with a blazer. 

Pre-interview preparations

First of all, the preparation is quite of a key to the success of any interview. I search online for blogs of candidates of the interviews from previous years but I wasn't sure if they pulled it off. Also, there are plenty of  Youtube video clips that provide some useful tips for interviews. I even saw a video clip about a person's body language could determine the success of an interview. So, do check it out. 

https://www.ted.com/talks/amy_cuddy_your_body_language_shapes_who_you_are?language=en

Moreover, I did some research on the syllabus of dentistry and USM.

On the day before the interview, I went on an afternoon flight from Miri to Kuching. I stayed over for a sleepless night at my cousin's house.

Before interview

The next day it came the nerve-wracking interview. When I arrived there at 7.30am, the candidates were coming in flocks to the third floor out from the lift. People were everywhere. Then I spotted my old school chums and I gave them that look from a stone's throw away.

'That look'

I was astonished by schoolmates who I didn't expect to come for the interview. They are bursary students. (Bursary students are privileged to be fully supported by our government in their tertiary education.) They had no worries whatsoever on settling in a private university. They came anyway for the public schools' interviews. They told me they had so many choices and USM is one of their alternatives. A backup plan, they called it. They supposed this was an alternative for me. Grinning sheepishly, I replied them with a flat-out no. Their alternative is my only option.

We queued up to register and then I followed a group of dental interviewees to a row of chairs arranged outside a room. We were given a form about how much you agree or disagree with the situations given. It's some sort of a personality test and we were told to answer them with immediate response. 

The sequence of being interviewed was random. We could go in as long as we felt like it. Then, we made the sequence among ourselves. I was the eighth interviewee. I did prayed a lot and I did breathe in and out as if I was in labour. No shame but this is how we calm our nerves. 

Interview 

Once after I said good morning, I was facing a dilemma. Should I shake hands? They are too many pantangs (don'ts) amongst the Muslims but shaking hands is one of the do's for the interview. Screw it. I just shook my hands with each of them regardless of gender. I was able to recognise their faces, therefore I thought addressing their names could give them a good impression of me. However, they weren't impressed at all but cutting me off by quickly asking me to take a seat. The tone was so nonchalant, taking a toll on my confidence. 

I wondered why their lack of enthusiasm. It might be that I was the eighth interview candidate. They might be exhausted and got straight to the point of knowing me by dispensing with the pleasantries. I learnt that I shouldn't try so hard to please them because it was uncomfortable for me and for the interviewers. 

While the male interviewer asked me questions, the other female interviewer was perusing my certs. The questions asked were simple, 

-Tell me about yourself (Malay)

-What are the occupations of your parents (Malay)

-Are your siblings working or studying (Malay)

-Why do you choose dentistry (Malay)

-What are the characteristic of a dentist (Malay)

When the questions were addressed in Malay language, I should speak in Malay language. If they addressed the questions in English, I would be expected to answer them in English. The only expected question that they didn't ask was 'why did you choose USM'. They were so sick of hearing those all memorised answers from most of the candidates before me, like 'APEX University, only university that implements school system instead of faculty system, recognition of 5-star university by MQA, good quality of teaching and learning etc. 

As I told them I chose USM because it was an APEX university, the male interviewer gave me an 'I-don't-care' look. 

'I-don't-care' look

He continued to ask

(Blue - me , Red - interviewer)

-What do you know about dentistry (English)

-What do you know about the syllabus and topics in dentistry (English)

-How long is the course of study? (English)

For this question, I was confused if it was a 4 or 5 years course, then I answered,

'I think it should be a 4 to 5 years course.'

'It's 5 years.'

'Oh.'  Damn, I should have known it

-When did you last see a dentist? (English)

-What is your highest achievement in co-curriculum? (English)

-Do you represent your school for sports? (English)

-What will you do if you can't enter USM to study dentistry? (English)

-Do you like music? Do you play any musical instruments? (English)

It somehow annoyed me when he repeated so many times for this statement 'we will only choose 50 students out of 300 applicants.'

Case study

After that, it was the case study part. the female interviewer gave me a card and asked me to choose a language to read the situation given in the card. I chose English and it read :

'A 90-year-old man is living alone. He is sick lately. His wife has just passed away and his two children are not living with him. Your mother chooses to take care of him and prepare meals for him. What would you do to manage his problem?'

Wait, what's his problem? First, identify the problem. 

'So, this old man was sick and his wife has just passed away and his two children are not living with him..' Dear me, I just repeated the question. The spike of my Cortisol level make me a raving idiot. My mind went so well I can't even.

Then, give a solution for the problem.

'I'd just take care of him.'

No, I didn't just say that.

She apparently wasn't satisfied with my answer. 

'But, your mother prepared the meal for him and took good care of him.' 

Stay focus!

'Okay, I'd send him to the hospital to seek help from doctors to cure his illness.'

'But would he feel happy if he stayed in the hospital?'

Good point. 

'Then, I think I'd hire the doctors and nurses to his house to take good care of him.'

'But that required a lot of money.'

'I will persuade the doctors and the nurses to help him. Or else, I just volunteer myself.'

That still didn't solve the problem.

'Why wouldn't you send him to Rumah orang tua (old folks home)?'

'No, cannot!'

'Why?'

'It's because it's cruel to the old man.'

'But it has the good medical facilities and medical staffs.'

'The old man's wife has just passed away and his children are not with him. He must feel very bad and lonely. It will cause him pain and negative emotions. Negative emotions will not help a person in healing his illness but to aggravate his sickness. Study has shown that only when a patient is positive about life then his illness can be recovered more easily.'

'But he is a 90-year-old'

'......'

Girl.

'That doesn't mean that a 90-year-old guy cannot get medical assistance from professionals. Every individual should have the right to obtain medical assistance from medical professionals as stated in the law.'

She nodded in agreement with my answer but after all, there was no solution to the problem.

Thinking back about it, I wasn't showing the professionalism and rationalism that are required by a dentist. The execution was the messy part. 

In the end, there were no right or wrong answers since they were all my opinions. 

Post-interview feeling 

Ask one about these questions,

Did I show who I really am?

1) empathy (yes and it's overloading)

2) professionalism (too little to be considered a yes and too much to be considered a no)

3) rationalism (NOT ONE BIT)

Exactly

I was surprised that there wasn't any wire bending-session which I had expected. They said it would only be carried out by applicants from the West Malaysia. 

Overall, it's an easy interview. However, it is too competitive. I have got only less than 20% chance to study dentistry in USM. I don't think I did a good job in this interview but I'm sure as hell this interview did a very good job in giving me sleepless nights. 

I will definitely scream my stress out in the private KTV. Definitely.