Internal Medicine Interview Section 1: Portfolio
The internal medicine interview portfolio or commitment section is designed to test your commitment to internal medicine training.
The portfolio section lasts around 5 minutes and it will be the first thing you start with.
The Portfolio section of the IMT interview is split into two section itself. First you will be asked to give a short presentation on your achievements and then you will be asked questions about your portfolio and commitment to the internal medical training.
IMT Interview Portfolio Question Format
This question is divided into two sections:
Presentation – you are required to start the interview with a two-minute presentation on the following:
Give an overview of your achievements to date which are most relevant to your application to be a trainee in internal medicine
Questions – you will then be asked questions about your suitability to be an internal medicine trainee, this may include clarifying questions about your achievements and application.
Presentation – you are required to start the interview with a two-minute presentation on the following:
Give an overview of your achievements to date which are most relevant to your application to be a trainee in internal medicine
Questions – you will then be asked questions about your suitability to be an internal medicine trainee, this may include clarifying questions about your achievements and application.
Presentation Guidance
When preparing your presentation, please bear in mind the points below:
- Give headlines and brief descriptions of your achievements to maximise the time available.
- Ensure your presentation is clear and well-structured.
- Credit will be given to achievements which demonstrate skills transferrable to being an internal medicine trainee; these achievements do not necessarily need to have been gained in physician-related activity.
- Two-minute time limit - Your presentation must last for no more than two minutes, and you will be stopped at this point.
- No aids/resources allowed – you are not allowed to use any visual representations, such as PowerPoint, when giving your presentation and you must not share your screen. You are welcome to use notes, but these should be for your own use only.
How Should I Prepare For The IMT Interview Portfolio Section?
Preparing your presentation and answers ahead of time is critical for doing well at the portfolio section of the IMT interview. Being given an uninterrupted presentation to start the interview is a great opportunity to settle your nerves and tell the interviewers about why you deserve an IMT job.
Structuring your answers and practising the presentation are the best way to prepare.
Structuring your presentation around the person specification and self-assessment is sensible. You should then provide evidence to say why you excel in the areas and then reflect and say what you learned from your experiences and why they will help you during IMT.
Structuring your answers and practising the presentation are the best way to prepare.
Structuring your presentation around the person specification and self-assessment is sensible. You should then provide evidence to say why you excel in the areas and then reflect and say what you learned from your experiences and why they will help you during IMT.
How Is The IMT Portfolio Section Scored?
The portfolio section of the IMT interview has its own unique scoring system.
The top scoring applicants will be awarded a score of 5 by interviewers for delivering a clear, well-structured presentation with achievements above the expectations of interviewers and examples relevant to IMT training.
The top scoring applicants will be awarded a score of 5 by interviewers for delivering a clear, well-structured presentation with achievements above the expectations of interviewers and examples relevant to IMT training.
Top Tips
- Practise your presentation as much as possible and keep to time.
- Have a simple structure where you give a piece of evidence, relate it to the IMT person specification and then reflect and say what you learned and why it is relevant to IMT.
- Spend time re-reading old audits, presentations and publications. Anything included in your Portfolio may be discussed by the interviewers and it is important that you can recall data and results from projects you undertook several years previously
- Be honest with everything on the self-assessment and make sure you have included sufficient evidence to back it up
- You will be nervous but speak clearly and remember it is an easy win having the presentation as the first part of your interview.
