Tips for TMU KIRA (from an accepted student)

Hi folks,

As you start to prep for TMU’s Kira assessment, I thought I’d share some guidance as someone who was accepted to TMU last cycle! (I shared all this in a comment previously but thought I’d make a post to make it visible to as many people as possible).

I’ve been helping some students prep for KIRA already, and here are a few pieces of advice off the top of my head:

Approach to preparation:

1. PLEASE prep for this as if it is an interview invite!!! How well you do on KIRA will determine whether you move forward in the process. Give yourself the best chance you can!
2. I’ve gotten questions about how much I prepped. This is individual to each person, but if a reference point is helpful, I did at least 2 hours a day over the course of three weeks. While others may need less, this level of prep was to make myself feel confident in the work that I put in.

Suggestions on where to start with your prep:

1. Pick 2-3 personal/academic/professional experiences that show your strengths, as well as 2-3 personal/academic/professional experiences where things did not go so well and you grew as a person. These will be important if you’re asked to share personal experiences (e.g., Tell us about a time you demonstrated leadership/failed/handled negative feedback). Given TMU’s focus on primary care for underserved communities in Peel, reflect on how these experiences prepare you to serve Peel/disenfranchised groups. 
2. Ensure you are familiar with TMU’s five pillars (holistic care, culturally-sensitive care, team-based care, care for the elderly, innovation and tech).
   1. Think about personal/academic/professional experiences you have that may align with and show your commitment to these pillars.
   2. Also think about what it means to deliver care in alignment with these 5 values as a physician both in and outside of the clinic (e.g., acknowledging positionality, co-creating care plans, etc.). You can bring these reflections into answers to show what kind of physician you aspire to be. 
3. Ensure you prepare for all the tough questions early so that you can practice delivering your responses over the next several weeks (e.g., why medicine, why TMU, why are you interested in practicing within Peel, biggest failure)
4. When practicing for the video questions, record yourself on your laptop camera, and rewatch the video to look for areas of improvement. For written questions, I would practice writing out an answer, and take time to review afterwards (have trusted peers review if possible as well). 

Types of questions and response structure:

1. How you structure an answer is just as important as the content of your response. Come up with a structure for answering questions to improve flow and clarity of your answers. E.g. for personal questions, use the STARR method (last R is for “relate back to medicine”). There are structures for policy/ethics and scenario-based questions you could find online. I developed my own structures for these questions that felt natural and authentic to me, and that I thought would make my answers stand out. 
2. Last year, I prepared for personal, scenario-based, and policy+ethics questions. While the questions may skew towards one of these categories over others, I think it's good to be prepared for everything. This approach helped me feel more confident to know I could handle any type of question coming my way. 

I hope this is helpful! Let me know if there are any other questions, and I’ll do my best to answer them (but keep in mind a delay in response time as school is a bit hectic). I am offering tailored 1:1 Kira prep, and aiming to make my support financially accessible to those that need it**. I offered support for over 35 students for application review + CASPER prep this year, and really love working with you wonderful folks!** If you’re looking for prep support, feel free to DM me! [And yes, I can provide proof that I was accepted to TMU :D ]