It was an exercise on how to interview for admission to medical school.

Not even Darcie Spresser, a 24-year-old undergraduate at Wichita State University who volunteered to be interviewed in front of others, knew how real and how emotional it would be. It was just an exercise, but Spresser nailed it.

It happened Saturday during a day-long program in Wichita that brought about 340 undergraduate students and advisers from Kansas and surrounding states. The program, co-hosted by KU School of Medicine-Wichita and Wichita State University, was designed to help them know what to expect about medical school and help them prepare for the challenges.

James Kallail, professor and associate chairman for research in the Department of Internal Medicine at KU School of Medicine-Wichita, conducted the interview exercise in an amphitheater at the Wichita medical campus as about 35 students watched. Kallail, a member of the admission committee for the medical school system, told Spresser he wanted her to be as open and honest as possible.

“Tell me why you want to be a physician,” he asked in a calm, clear voice.

“My heart lies there,” she said, explaining that she had tried another career but realized that caring for others as a doctor is what she decided she had to do. She now works as a phlebotomist, drawing patients’ blood at Via Christi Hospital on St. Francis, so she sees all kinds of patients. A defining moment came one day when she walked into a cancer patient’s room to take a blood sample from her.

Sunshine from a window was hitting the ill woman in the face.

“Oh, honey, let me close that blind down for you; the sun is in your eyes,” Spresser told the woman.

“That’s OK,” the patient said. “I’m just glad God gave me another day to see the sun rise.”

Spresser’s voice caught, and she teared up as she recounted it to Kallail. She apologized for getting emotional. He said it was OK, to continue. The other students listened intently.

Spresser, a native of Selden in northwest Kansas, also talked about donating a kidney to a relative two years ago. Kallail said it was quite a sacrifice.

She said that because of her Christian faith, it is important for her to help people, that it is who she is.

As Kallail and the students critiqued the interview afterward, Spresser conceded she was nervous and emotional, that it “just came out.”

It’s natural to be a little nervous during an interview, Kallail said. “It’s an anxiety-provoking situation.”

But Kallail told her she came across as genuine, that the emotion came as part of her credible, compelling story.

The students discussed whether her mention of religion could be controversial in the context of a medical school interview. But Kallail said he didn’t take it that way, that it’s OK to bring up faith if it is relevant during an interview.

The test, he said, is if religious belief gets in the way of treating a patient.

A score of 6 is the top interview score, he said. “I’d give her a 6. This was a star interview. I don’t see interviews like this very often.”

In another session – a panel discussion in which current medical students shared what it takes to get into medical school and succeed there – one of the panel members told the undergrads to make sure they know how they will answer the question interviewers always ask: “Tell me about yourself.” It’s not always easy to answer.

Whatever you say, you have to be yourself and be genuine, the med students said.

As for what classes to take, the message was: Get a degree in what really interests you, not what you think will look good on paper. Still, some specific course areas, like biochemistry and anatomy, are especially important.

Many of the med students exposed themselves to the profession by shadowing doctors – learning what is really involved, by seeing surgeries and other procedures first-hand.

Someone asked if it’s doable to start families while attending medical school. The answer: Some med students do have small children, but it forces them to closely budget their time.

Med school, they said, is a full-time job.

Reach Tim Potter at 316-268-6684 or tpotter@wichitaeagle.com.

Read more:
A prospective KU med school student speaks from the heart