Our program has been interviewing since the beginning of November, and as we’re getting our interviewing skills back in shape, we thought a few tips and tricks might be useful for everyone out on the residency interview trail.
For many applicants, the last thing you interviewed for prior to your residency interviews was medical school. It’s probably burned into your memory – all the anticipation, nervous energy and feelings of inadequacy compared to your fellow applicants mixed with the excitement that you finally made it to this interview for which you had devoted so much work.
Your residency interview, while it bears some similarities to the med school process, will hopefully feel much more relaxed, conversational, and reciprocal (you are interviewing programs as much as they’re interviewing you). So the first and maybe most important thing to do is relax. You are at the interview because this program has already decided you have what it takes to be a resident there. From here on out, the question is, how well do you and the program fit?
So, besides that, what are some keys to interview success?
First, do some homework
You need to familiarize yourself with the interview process, what to expect when you arrive in town, who’s who in a residency office and GME department, and other information that’s good to know regardless of program specifics. Where to start:
ALiEM has an expert panel discussion about interviewing strategies
And here’s ALiEM’s dos and don’ts of residency interviewing
Emergency Medicine Residents Association (EMRA) is your go-to organization for resident and med student resources. Here’s their interview page
Next, get to know the program
Ok, technically this is still part of doing your homework but its so important that it deserves special attention. It is painfully obvious when an applicant hasn’t taken any time to learn the basics about a program. Is every program going to be in your top five? Of course not. Does every program want to feel like to came to interview there for a reason? Of course they do.
So how do you do this? Really, it’s not that tough. Start with the program’s website. Be aware that some programs may have an “official” website through the hospital or university and an “unofficial” website that conveys more of the character of the program. Browse around, see who the people are who make up the residents and faculty, look at the curriculum, read about the rotations and clinical sites.
This does a few things for you. First, you get an idea about how interested you are in that program. Does it specialize in the areas you want to pursue? Are the resident class sizes large or small, and does that matter to you? You get the picture.
Second, you get your basic questions answered. Curious how many ICU months you’ll do? How many electives and when they are? Where the residents come from? The simple stuff is all there on the website.
Third, you get to show the program that you are interested enough in them that you put time into learning about them. Then, rather than saying, “do you offer elective time?” you can say, “I see your electives are scheduled in the final year, what have your residents been choosing to do?”
Where else can you learn about the programs? Again EMRA is a great resource with their EMRA Match site. Should you read up on sites like studentdoctor.net? Up to you. Just remember on those sites with forums and comments that you are only reading the opinions of the people who made the effort to write a review, so it may be an incomplete picture.
Get yourself ready for interview day
The basics of this are covered in the reviews done by EMRA and ALiEM, but some of the keys are:
- Look nice. Professional attire. Unique is fine but you don’t want to be remembered as the person who wore something crazy when it comes time to make rank lists.
- Be nice. Say hi to people. Chat with the other applicants. You’re not in competition with each other. If a program loves everyone they interview on a certain day, it will rank all of them highly. Don’t be rude to the program coordinator, the receptionist, or any other staff you meet. Your interview should be fun. You’ve worked really hard to get to this point. Enjoy it!
- As much as you can, have real conversations on interview day. Any program worth going to should be interested in who you are and they’ll appreciate you being genuine about your interests, strengths, and weaknesses. Plus, this has the added advantage of taking what can be four or more awkward interviews and turning them into fun conversations.
- Meet the residents. Talk with them in the informal settings throughout your interview day. This will probably give you the best idea of how much of a fit that program will be.
After you interview
You’ll feel like you have a great feel for the program, you’ll remember what the ED looks like and the particularities of the benefits and perks. But once a few more interviews (and weeks) go by, everything starts to blend together. So, while it’s fresh in your mind, write down your impressions – both the good and bad. No detail is too trivial if it meant something to you during your visit. These are the things that will help you put your rank list together in February.
Keep in contact. A thank you note is great. For the places you’re really interested in, another note or two as the season progresses may be a good idea.
Finally, go home (or to your hotel), and start the process for your next interview.
Final thoughts
The med school application process is best characterized as, “please, someone let me in!” The process for residency is much more balanced and it’s important to be interviewing each program while you’re there for them to interview you. Doctors (and doctors-to-be) love to know what is THE best – who sees the most patients, does the coolest procedures, etc. But there are many flavors of emergency medicine residencies – university, county, community, hybrid – and at the end of the day, there is no such thing as the best program, only the program that is best for you. If you can keep that in mind, you will maximize your chances of a successful application season.
