UCSF School of Medicine interview questions
141 verified questions reported by candidates across 2 roles at UCSF School of Medicine. Each one is archetype-tagged so you can see the pattern, slot the right STAR story, and practice out loud against an AI interviewer.
16 questions, grouped by role
Top 8 per role by quality score. For the full list per role, follow the role link in each section heading.
Physician
All Physician questions →- 1Give me an example of how you resolved a conflict in your work.panel
- 2How would you handle a situation in which your patient couldn't afford the best treatment in your treatment plan?panel
- 3How would you handle a patient unable to afford your recommended treatment plan?panel
- 4What would you do if you discovered a classmate was cheating?panel
- 5Tell me about an ethical dilemma you have been in and how did you deal with it.panel
- 6How do you think you will be prepared to serve the healthcare needs of a diverse patient base?panel
- 7Describe your clinical exposure to dentistry and what you observed.panel
- 8What medical issue is there in your community that you would like to address or change?panel
Registered Nurse
All Registered Nurse questions →- 1Walk me through a complex feature you implemented in one of your recent software projects, describing your technical approach and design decisions.onsite
- 2Describe a situation where you identified a potential safety risk in your workplace and how you addressed it.
- 3How would you design a real-time floor occupancy tracking system for a multi-story office building?
- 4What motivated you to specialize in burn intensive care unit nursing versus other medical specialties?
- 5Describe a significant professional setback you've experienced and walk me through how you responded to and learned from that challenge.
- 6Describe a memorable interaction you've had with a patient that demonstrates compassionate elder care.onsite
- 7Walk me through a challenging patient care scenario where effective teamwork was critical to resolving a complex medical issue.onsite
- 8Describe a time when you led a team through a challenging project and what leadership lessons you learned.onsite
Common questions
It varies by role and round. A phone screen is usually 5–8 questions, on-site loops 15–25 across multiple interviewers. The full UCSF School of Medicine loop tends to surface 30+ distinct prompt patterns across the rounds, which is what we've banked here.
Yes — every question on this page is verified, meaning at least one candidate reported being asked it in a real UCSF School of Medicine interview. We don't pad the list with generic prompts that weren't reported.
Pick the role section most relevant to your interview, run three to five questions through the practice tool out loud, and read the per-answer scoring. Most candidates who land an offer report 8–15 practice sessions over two weeks before the interview.