Thunder Bay & Sudbury, ON
Allopathic Medical Schools | Public Non-Profit
Overall, applicants ranked the school in the top 26% of interviews, indicating it is moderately regarded. They found the interview mixed with a moderate stress level, and felt they did well.
⭐ Overall Impressions ▼
How did the interview impress you?
Most respondents felt positively about their interview.
What was the stress level of the interview?
Most respondents rated their interview as average stress.
How you think you did?
Most respondents thought they performed well at the interview.
How do you rank this school among ALL other schools?
Most respondents rank this school above all other schools.
How do you rank this school among other schools to which you've applied?
Most respondents rank this school above other schools they applied to.
0 = Below, 10 = Above
💬 Interview Questions ▼
What is one of the specific questions they asked you?
The most commonly asked interview questions at medical schools include inquiring about knowledge of the school's curriculum and teaching style, discussing medical ethics with examples, reflecting on personal qualities that make a good medical student, envisioning future career goals, and understanding the importance of cultural competency and social accountability in medicine. Many respondents mentioned a nondisclosure agreement, suggesting the interviews were conducted in an MMI format where specific questions cannot be disclosed.
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cannot disclose due to signing of confidentiality agreement, however all questions were fair game.
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Brush up on medical ethics....bring in examples as much as possible to demonstrate you have knowledge of past similar cases.
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Know NOSM's curriculum, teaching style, general program requirements as they may ask about your learning style, or what you think of specific things (all stuff you can get from their website)
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Really think about qualities you possess that will make you a good MD and good NOSM student and emphasize these qualities in EVERY answer.
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At the end of 1st year, you'll be spending time to immerse yourself in an Aboriginal community. Speculate why, raise issues.
What was the most interesting question?
Students said most interesting question asked at Northern Ontario School of Medicine discussed situational medical ethics, personal examples in responses, a diabetic patient turning to faith healing, pros and cons of the MCAT non-utilization, and how to handle a depressed or suicidal peer. The interview format appears to be MMI with potential nondisclosure agreements, while questions often revolved around ethics, personal experiences, and current events interwoven with medical scenarios.
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a situational medical ethics question
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I was surprised at how specific the issues were in the questions (lots of medical ethics).....REALLY make an effort at throwing in personal examples at every station or else the interviewer will not get to know you.
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A diabetic patient stops taking her conventional medication and turns to faith healing. Discuss issues.
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pro's and con's of the MCAT and why i think NOSM does not utilize it.
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what would I do if a peer in my class seemed depressed or suicidal.
What was the most difficult question?
Students said the most difficult question asked at Northern Ontario School of Medicine discussed scenarios related to the Canadian healthcare system, ethical dilemmas in healthcare practice, allocation of healthcare funds, and current issues in the healthcare system with potential solutions. The interview format may have been an MMI (Multiple Mini Interview) with possible nondisclosure agreements in place based on respondents' mentions of ambiguous questions and specific scenario-based inquiries.
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same as the most interesting question
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A scenario was given and you had to answer how you would deal with it with specific knowledge about the Canadian Health care system....have an idea about what is covered and what is not.
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Debate the positives and negative issues surrounding clean-needle exchange for addicts.
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The ins and outs of providing care for someone doing something you may or may not see as unethical...it may be abortion, steroids, or whatever.
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you are part of a comittee to decide where the money for health care is spent
🤝 Interview Format and Logistics ▼
How long was the interview?
Most respondents had an interview of more than 50 minutes.
How many people interviewed you?
Most respondents were interviewed by 5 or more people.
What was the style of the interview?
Most respondents had a one-on-one interview.
What type of interview was it?
Most respondents had a closed file interview.
Was this interview in-person or virtual?
Most respondents had a virtual interview.
Data includes both pre- and post-COVID interviews.
No responses
Where did the interview take place?
Most respondents were interviewed at the school.
📍 On-Site Experience ▼
Who was the tour given by?
Tours were most commonly given by a Student
How did the tour guide seem?
Most tour guides were enthusiastic about the school.
How do you rank the facilities?
Most respondents rank the facilities as above average.
What is your in-state status?
Most respondents rank the facilities as below average.
What were your total hours spent traveling?
Most respondents spent 7+ hours traveling to the interview.
What was your primary mode of travel?
Most respondents traveled by automobile to the interview.
About how much did you spend on room, food, and travel?
Most respondents spent more than $500.
What airport did you fly into?
Respondents who flew to the interview generally used Des Moines International Airport (DSM)
No responses
Where did you stay?
Most respondents stayed either Friends or family or with friends or family.
What is the name of the hotel you stayed in?
No responses
How would you rate the hotel?
Most respondents rated their hotel as good.
0 = Bad, 10 = Great
Would you recommend the hotel?
Most respondents would recommend their hotel.
What is your ranking of this school's location?
Most respondents rate the school location as good.
0 = Bad, 10 = Great
What is your ranking of this area's cultural life?
Most respondents rate the area’s cultural life as good.
0 = Bad, 10 = Great
What are your comments on where you stayed?
No responses
✅ Interview Preparation and Impressions ▼
How is the friendliness of the admissions office?
Most respondents said the admissions office was unfriendly.
No responses
How is the responsiveness of the admissions office?
Most respondents said the admissions office was unresponsive.
No responses
How did you prepare for the interview?
Applicants commonly prepared for the interview by reading relevant material such as medical ethics books, news sources, and healthcare initiatives. They also practiced answering questions, created mock interview scenarios, and focused on ethical concepts and healthcare issues to improve their interview performance.
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read the school website, read up on Northern health issues, improved familiarity with initiatives in Ontario health care system and how they pertain to rural/remote regions, read "Doing Right" by Hebert.
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Read ''Doing Right''...a medical ethics book, read thestar.com daily, reflected at why I wanted to be an MD.
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CMAJ's Bioethics for Clinicians
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Prepared a series of questions and ethical concepts oriented to medicine, culture, sociology, politics, etc etc...
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Created possible questions that would be typically be asked at a med school interview and added the Northern Ontario twist to each. Mock interview at school. Repeatedly practiced with 8 minute time frame, so that I could pace my answer - fill the time, but answer under time.
What impressed you positively?
Applicants were consistently impressed by the enthusiasm and friendliness of the students, faculty, and staff, along with the well-organized and welcoming nature of the interview process. They appreciated the progress of the institution, the inclusive environment, and the engaging and relevant interview scenarios during the MMI.
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The enthusiasm of the students, faculty, administration
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how organized the whole process was. Everything was on time.
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The school, staff, volunteers, they all were inviting and comforting...
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Progress made in the previous two years (they actually have a physical location now), how friendly everyone was.
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how friendly other students were.
What impressed you negatively?
Applicants were negatively impressed by the high number of interviews for limited seats, concerns about safety in the city of Thunder Bay, lack of organization in the interview process, and the monologue-based MMI format. Suggestions included improving communication, providing more information about the facilities, and considering the location and environment of the campus.
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A lot of interviews (400) for only 56 seats.
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That they interviewed 415 people for 56 spots....why the extra 15??
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Although I respect their efforts to promote medicine in Northern Ontario, Thunder Bay is likely the most abysmal city I have visited. Friends comment on how dangerous the city is and how they don't go to campus at night because the campus is surrounded by bush, thus making rapes not uncommon. A gentleman told me to watch my back in fear of getting stabbed by locals. The general environment seemed unwelcoming. One restaurant owner didn't even know Thunder Bay was host to a new medical school!
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The monologue, as opposed to dialogue of the MMI. Would prefer actual conversation.
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I keep forgetting how ugly Sudbury is.
What did you wish you had known ahead of time?
Many applicants wished they had known about the varying formats of MMIs, the emphasis on community involvement in the interview process, restrictions on bringing items to the interview, and the importance of having a pen or pencil. They also highlighted the need to be aware of the community's demographics and the fact that interviewers cannot answer personal questions.
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How relaxed the whole interview day would be, and how different MMIs can be from school to school.
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I was unaware before the interview that they throw out your worst answer...apparently they said it in the room, but I didn't hear it. Having that knowledge would have allowed me to ''shake off'' my one bad station a little easier.
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How degraded the city was and how a significant part of the community is underprivileged/disenfranchised.
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Nothing, i'm awesome and prepared ahead of time...hahaha
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You can't ask the interviewer any questions/they can't answer any questions about themselves. I wish I could have known what their role/position was (student, resident, community member, staff, faculty). Not new to me, but maybe of note to others: you are not allowed to bring ANYTHING into the interviews with you (no pens, no paper, no water). They provide you with water to bring to the interview with you. If you arrive too early you just end up sitting in a room talking with other nervous interviewees.
What are your general comments?
Applicants generally expressed a mix of stress and enjoyment during the interview process, highlighting the importance of staying relaxed and being genuine. Some suggested improvements included providing feedback during the interview and adjusting the timing for questions.
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I was SUPER stressed before hand, but once you get going the time just flies by.
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Those applying/accepting offers at NOSM must carefully consider the environment as well as the school itself.
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Excellent... (advice) If you make it to the interview it is safe to assume you are smart enough to be there. Just relax and go with the flow. Dont be fake, be real, and honest...
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It's too bad that the Q&A session with the students wasn't before the interviews. It seems like anything (introductions, chit-chat) that is not part of your official answer is not part of the scoring of the interview. You have two minutes to read a senario/question on the door before entering the room to talk at the interviewer. The interviewers are instructed to give almost no feedback. They do have some follow up questions that they may or may not ask you depending on time, you would like to answer follow-up questions or if you had already addressed them in your answer. Eight minutes seems really long for one question, but in practice, it seemed really short and I had no problem talking for almost that lenght of time.
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it was a positive experience. I enjoyed the process and found it 'fun'.
What are your suggestions for the admissions office?
No responses
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