How to answer “Who is your role model?” in a medical school interview

A strong answer to "who is your role model" in a medical school interview names one person, describes two or three actions you have watched them take, and says how you've tried to do the same. The person you choose matters less than what you've taken from them, and the interviewer is listening for the second part.

What the interviewer is assessing

• Self-reflection and growth

This question is about you, however much of it you spend on somebody else. What you admire shows what you value, so the interviewer learns whether you prize conduct, such as patience with a difficult person, or outcomes, such as an award or a title. They listen for behavior you've observed directly rather than a list of adjectives, for evidence that you've acted on it, and for honesty about the person's limits.

In a panel interview this is a conversational question with follow-ups about the person. In an MMI, it can be a personal station where you have two minutes to prepare and the rater wants a focused answer.

How to structure your answer

1. Name the person and your relationship to them in one sentence.
2. Describe one specific action you've seen them take, with enough detail that the interviewer can picture it.
3. Say what quality that shows and why it matters to you.
4. Add a second example or quality if you can keep the answer under two minutes.
5. Describe one occasion when you tried to act the same way, and say how it went.
6. Close with what you're still trying to learn from them.

Choose a person you know or have observed closely: a parent, a coach, a supervisor, a teacher or a physician you shadowed. A public figure can work only if you know enough about them to describe specific actions, and you should expect the interviewer to know their flaws as well as their achievements. It's fine to say the person isn't perfect, and it's often what makes the answer believable. Keep the setup short and spend most of your ninety seconds on what you learned.

Common mistakes

• Naming a famous physician or scientist you know only from a biography leaves you with nothing specific to say when the interviewer asks what you've learned.
• Listing adjectives such as kind, hardworking and brilliant without an action behind each one describes nobody in particular.
• Spending the whole answer on the person's life story leaves no time for the half of the question that is about you.
• Choosing a role model for their achievements rather than their conduct suggests outcomes matter more to you than how they were reached.
• Picking a person whose behavior you'd struggle to defend invites a follow-up about the parts you left out.

Follow-up questions to prepare for

• Is there anything about your role model you wouldn't want to copy?
• Can you describe a time you acted the way your role model would have?
• Has your view of this person changed as you've grown older?
• Who has been a role model for you in a clinical or academic setting?
• What would your role model say your weaknesses are?