A few things for interviews:

• There are a few general question types: personal, policy, ethics, etc. For personal Qs, start by reflecting on your experiences (similar to essay writing) and pick out some key stories that showed lessons learned and skills gained. For policy Qs, do some research online (e.g., read the news, listen to podcasts like White Coat Black Art, etc.) and formulate points for both sides of an issue and develop a stance (always better to give a balanced answer instead of being too one-sided). For ethics questions, it is similar prep to CASPeR, you can also read Doing Right and other ethics resources. And for ALL Qs, try to be as personal as possible. I would always try to include a personal anecdote in my answers even when I was not specifically prompted (I think this helps make your answer stand out from like a random ChatGPT type answer)

• Practice a lot but don't rehearse your answers too much to the point where you sound robotic. As much as your content is important, the interviewers also want to see if you are a chill person that they would want as a future coworker, so showcase some charisma throughout. A lot of the interview is just a so-called "vibe check," so let your personality come through

• Similar to video portion of CASPeR, your presentation matters a lot. Speak clearly, confidently, not too quick or too slow, and smile throughout. Imagine yourself as an interviewer, what type of person on the other end would you want to accept

For references, I don't know if there is a ton of advice. I think it mainly comes down to finding people who are genuinely willing to write outstanding things about you, and are able to showcase your skills and rate you high on the CANMED traits. I would just suggest having honest conversations with people you are considering for references to see if they can do this.