| Interviewing
It is now time for you to assess programs and for the programs to assess you. Don’t be intimidated by the interview process.
Interviews typically start around 7-8
a.m. and end around 2-3 p.m. Most include breakfast, lunch and a tour.
How and When to
Set Up Interviews
Programs will usually tell you how they wish to contact you for interview invitations.
You should contact them one week in advance of your interview date to
confirm date, time, and location of interview.
Your first interview should not be your tentative top choice! The first interview will allow you to practice and better understand the process.
Contact the Office of Financial Aid to see what money is
available in your budget for traveling.
Top
How to Have Good
Interviews
Be on time; or better yet, be early!
Immediately following an interview, it is a good idea to take some time to record your impressions.
This can even be done while you are waiting for the next faculty member or the
tour. It will help in writing personalized thank-you notes. After a series of interviews at different sites, specific recollections can blur and critical mistakes can follow. It is easy to confuse details, confuse programs, and forget with whom you spoke. Taking notes can reduce the tendency to favor the more recently interviewed programs over earlier ones.
Try to talk to all levels of residents. Be wary when there are no
PGY-1s present.
Top
The Interview
Students applying for the Early Match
will typically interview in November, while students applying for the
regular residency match will interview during December and January. Many
programs will offer a dinner the evening before the interviews.
Participation is encouraged so that you have the chance to interact with
current residents, which will give you a better idea of what the
residents and the program are like. Remember, all of the time you spend
with both faculty and residents is part of your interview. Stay on your
best behavior.
The residency program will have
prepared an itinerary for you listing the names of the people you will
meet and how much time is allotted for each person - generally 20-30
minutes. You will talk to the program director, faculty members, and
residents from different levels of training. Do some research about the
program and research areas of the faculty so you are well-prepared
to meet them.
Top
Factors to Avoid
These will usually turn off the
interviewer:
- Poor personal appearance
- Being overbearing, overaggressive
- Inability to express yourself clearly
- Lack of enthusiasm, having no purpose or goals
- Lack of maturity
- Lack of courtesy
- Condemnation of other specialties, other programs, other schools, your school, etc.
- Little sense of humor
- Lack of knowledge in field of specialization
- Emphasis on who you know
- Unwillingness to be mobile
- Strong prejudices
- Narrow interests
- No interest in community activities
- Inability to take criticism
- Being late to the interview without a good reason
- Directly asking what your chances are of matching
Top
Questions You Are Likely to be Asked
- What are your interests outside of medicine?
- What are your plans after residency?
- Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
- What are you looking for in a training program?
- How do you feel about working with private physicians, and have you had any such experience?
- Why have you chosen this particular specialty?
- What aspects of this particular training program or specialty are particularly attractive to you?
or are particularly concerning to you? Were you employed prior to entering medical school and what have you learned from such jobs or experience?
- What are your hobbies?
- What books have you read recently? What’s your favorite
book?
- Do you prefer any specific geographic location, and why?
- Who recommended our program to you?
- What are your major strengths? weaknesses?
- What questions do you have for us about this residency training program?
- Please discuss why you entered the field of medicine, and was it what you expected?
- In which direction do you see this specialty heading in the next 10 years, and how can you contribute to this field?
- Why should I choose you over one of your classmates?
- What would you do if you did not obtain a residency position for next year?
- Tell me about yourself.
These questions are taken from Medical Student’s Guide to Successful Residency Matching by Lee Miller and Leigh G. Donowitz, pg.
62.
Most interviews are relaxed and non-confrontational, but be prepared for the rare one that is not. Be prepared to honestly discuss any shortcomings in your applications, i.e., failed courses or low board scores. However, virtually all interviewees state that they were never asked about their transcript or scores.
Top
Questions You Should Ask
Questions for Faculty
- General framework of training program.
- Time spent on private vs. public hospitals.
- Number of hospitals and location.
- Is most of the time spent in one institution?
- What schools did the present house staff come from?
- What percentage of faculty are full time?
- Do the attending staff participate in daily rounds, or is the bulk of teaching by other residents?
- What is the general framework of the conference schedule?
- Are there teaching conferences geared for house staff and are the interns invited to attend these conferences?
- Are there rotations in all related subspecialties?
- When are electives offered during the training and how much time is available for electives?
- What percentage of residents pass their certifying exams the first time? How well do they do?
- Does the chairman plan any changes in the program in the near future?
- Is the chairman likely to retire shortly or will he or she remain chairman during my residency?
- What are chances of permanent local practice after residency?
- Is the system pyramidal?
- What is the financial status of the institution?
- What do the residents decide to do after completing their residency? fellowship? general practice?
Questions for Residents
- Are you happy at this program?
- Is there a medical library close to the hospital and does it contain an adequate selection of recent books and journals?
- What are the photocopy privileges
for residents?
- How valuable are the conferences?
- What is the average number of patients per house officer?
- Is there adequate clinical experience performing procedures?
- Who teaches procedures to residents?
- Is an attending physician present at clinics?
- What does the house staff think of the chairman?
- What types of ancillary services are available and at what times of the day (i.e.,
IVs, blood draws)?
- When do rounds usually start in the morning?
- When does the day usually end? and when not on call?
- Does the call schedule change any from year to year?
- Is moonlighting permitted? If so, is it available?
- What are the parking facilities like?
- Is malpractice insurance provided? What are the limits?
- Are there fringe benefits? Disability insurance, health and/or life insurance?
- What is the housing situation like?
What is the average cost to rent an apartment?
- What are the climate and general living conditions in the community?
- What is the atmosphere of hospital? Is it usually a pleasant place to work?
- What is the salary?
- What is the faculty attitude toward residents?
- What complaints do you have?
- If given a choice, would you choose this program again?
Top
After You Return
Home
Record everything, whether good or bad! Write thank-you letters ASAP. Letters should be individualized and a letter should be written
to each interviewer. Always keep a working rank list.
Top
Evaluating
a Training Program
There is no rank order list of
competitive residency programs; however, you can look at top hospitals,
and this may be an indicator of top residency training programs. Also, look at
specialty Web sites. One good indicator of programs that may not be
as competitive is a listing of the previous year's residency programs
that did not fill. This is available at
http://www.scutwork.com/.
You are encouraged to talk to
advisors
who may know the pros and cons of several programs. Alumni are a great
resource as well.
Three major categories:
- Education: How is the training. (percent board pass note? Fellowship obtained?)
- Atmosphere: How are the residents treated?
Do the residents get along?
- The Rest: Location, salary, fringe package.
Top
|
