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Chapter 9-Residency Interview

Getting financially prepared

Being prepared for the interview takes more than most think.  There are several aspects to consider.  First, money.  Traveling, be it by car, or by air, cost money, and with the average number of interviews in the low double digits, it adds up quickly.  Luckily, for those who are not loaded, we can apply for a supplemental unsubsidized Stafford loan to meet this expense which obviously exceeds our normal budget.  However, in order to apply for these you must provide proof of ALL expenses in the from of receipts, which must then be approved by your financial aid office.  Furthermore, most financial aid offices want their students to just put forth one supplemental loan request (as it requires more work for them, and could get messy with many requests,) which will then require you the student to put forth the request at the end of the interview trail.  And what makes things even more troublesome, is that interviews normally begin in December, and continue as long as first week in February for some (some early decision programs interview early, ie, ENT) THis means that you run out of money for living expenses in December, and have to wait for the second half of your loan dispersement for living expenses in the second week of January.  All that said, if you are well prepared, you will be able to handle this issue, and the stress of interviewing for a residency position.  Before talking about the actual interview lets talk about preparation.

*Always check with your financial aid department about the ability to take out supplemental loans for these expenses, before doing so

You must reserve either in cash, or by credit card, $1500-2000.  You don’t want to cut too many corners on your travels, because an important part is being rested, bright and early for all of your interviews.  Secondly, you must develop a system for you to collect ALL of your receipts.  Even if you don’t plan on taking out supplemental loans to cover everything, you can deduct interview expenses created January on, when you file your taxes at the end of the fiscal year, midway through your first year of residency.  I recommend keeping a large envelop that you take with you everywhere, and just stuff receipts such as: airport transportation (taxi or shuttles), hotel, car rental (including gas), airplane tickets, tolls for those on car trips.  Having all of these things in one envelope at the end of your interview trail will be a tremendous help.  Last point on this, also keep the envelope in a safe place, as traveling on multiple interviews during electives, and clerkships in addition to moving after graduation sets up the opportunity to misplace things.

Getting mentally prepared

The other thing you should do is prepare for the questions on the interview.  It is difficult to predict exactly what questions will be asked of you, I’ve come up with a list of a few that are very common:

• Your past research (detailed knowledge)

• Extracurricular activities

• Decision for choosing the specialty for residency you wish to pursue

• If there are fellowships available do you intend to pursue any

• Any interest in taking a year off to do research

• Why that particular city

• What do you like to do on your spare time

• How interested you are in their program

• That’s just to list a few.   

Make sure you look over your entire ERAS application, and be able to go over any highlights in detail.  Also, learn about the program’s strengths (their institution/departmental websites are great starting points, i.e., new affiliated cancer center, transplant center, etc).

Informal meetings the evening before

Interview days are often setup in the same format.  The evening before the interview, many programs will setup an informal opportunity to meet and talk with their residents.  This is a good but not essential opportunity for two reasons.  You get to ask important questions, and often times the interns are the most honest, as they bare the grunt of the work and most recently in your shoes.  Secondly, you get to meet senior level residents who often (but not always) are participating in candidate selection during their rank meetings.  Thirdly, meeting most of the residents who will be around the following day on the interview, will provide a comfort zone during which you can ask more questions, and get to know and learn more about the program.  I will also mention that it is not necessary to go to these informal events, as they really don’t increase your odds significantly to get into a program.  In my opinion these opportunities are more important for you to make decisions between your top choices.

Interview Schedule & taking notes

The day of the interview usually starts off with some type of continental breakfast, then several lectures from the program director and/or the department chair.  Sometimes, a few words are given by a chief resident as well.  When interviews are held during the week, the day may include grand rounds or another lecture.  After this, and depending on the group size, either everyone will wait for interviews, or the group will be divided in half, and half will wait for interviews while the other half gets the tour of the facilities.  In my own experience interviews last from the shortest of 4 minutes (in a situation where the chair and program director wanted to meet every candidate in a large group briefly), to 1 hour.   The average is about two interviews of approximately 20-25 minutes in duration each, but of course this will vary depending on specialty and programs nationwide.  After the interviews, and tours, you are usually provided lunch, where a few more words may be said by the program director in closing, and that will be the end of the day (mostly around 1pm, but double check this ahead of time before making travel arrangements as some programs let out later, I’ve gotten out as late as 3:30pm.)  During your interview it is often recommended you take notes during the lectures, and mental notes during your conversations with residents and staff about positive and negative aspects of the program.  Many often collect this information for each program, and use the information weeks later when it will be your time to compile your rank list.  For me, I went into my interviews with a top four in mind, tried my best and was attentive on all interviews, and used my gut feeling when devising my rank list (more about the rank list soon.)

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