Sketchy Interview Questions

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rad0nc

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I recently had an interview where I was asked two questions that really caught me off guard.

1.) Are you planning on having a child during residency?
2.) Where do you plan to rank us?

The first question is clearly illegal. I was under the impression that the second question was against the rules of the NRMP and constituted a match violation. Anyways, this was only my second interview so I am wondering how common this is on the trail. I am quite shocked that questions like these ae asked at any interview, much less in such a small field like Rad Onc. I don't care enough to report, but I figure some students would.

Has anyone else encountered anything like this either this year, or in the past?
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rad0nc said:
I recently had an interview where I was asked two questions that really caught me off guard.

1.) Are you planning on having a child during residency?
2.) Where do you plan to rank us?

The first question is clearly illegal. I was under the impression that the second question was against the rules of the NRMP and constituted a match violation. Anyways, this was only my second interview so I am wondering how common this is on the trail. I am quite shocked that questions like these ae asked at any interview, much less in such a small field like Rad Onc. I don't care enough to report, but I figure some students would.

Has anyone else encountered anything like this either this year, or in the past?
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#2 is definitely a match violation. Programs cannot coerce you into disclosing information about your rank list. You can volunteer whatever info you want, but they are not supposed to ask you that.
 
JumpingFrenchmn said:
#2 is definitely a match violation. Programs cannot coerce you into disclosing information about your rank list. You can volunteer whatever info you want, but they are not supposed to ask you that.
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That is what I figured, but I have never seen any "official rules." Do you have any idea how often this happens? Also, it seems that a match violation on the side of the student is grounds for getting kicked out of the match. What are the repercussions for the program? It must be minor for a program to so brazenly break the rules.

Another obvious question is how do I use this information in the formation of my rank list? I only have 9 interviews, so I am not really in the position to not rank a program, but this activity really gives me pause about the program. Is this an automatic "do not rank" type of question?
 
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That is not simply a "sketchy" question - that's an obvious match violation. I doubt it would come to this, but the NRMP website says:

"If the NRMP's investigation of an alleged violation results in a finding that a program has committed a violation of this Agreement, the processing of the program's rank order list may be interrupted. The NRMP at its discretion may withdraw the program from the Matching Program."

So a program could (theoretically) get the death penalty - at least for the year.

It's on you to decide whether or not you think you should report it. I don't believe their is any ethical or legal obligation to report (I may be wrong), but there certainly isn't any ethical or legal obligation to not report it. I suspect the people involved in the process are well-versed in the rules and, if not, they should be.

Concerning whether or not you should rank them - that's a question only you can answer. Would you rather go to program that clearly disregards the rules of the match or would you be ok with it? It's up to you......

Also, based on charting the outcomes: 11/13 students ranking 8 programs matched and 8/8 students ranking 9 programs matched. I don't really think that is a statistically significant difference.

Personally, I think I'd report it and I do not think I would rank them, but you wouldn't be wrong if you sat on it and did ranked them. Radonc is a very small field and I would think that they (hopefully soon to be 'we') should hold themselves to a high standard. Mind you, I am a 3rd year so this is in no way, shape or form an attempt to have people rank fewer places to improve my chances. Good luck in the match!!!!
 
rad0nc said:
That is what I figured, but I have never seen any "official rules." Do you have any idea how often this happens? Also, it seems that a match violation on the side of the student is grounds for getting kicked out of the match. What are the repercussions for the program? It must be minor for a program to so brazenly break the rules.

Another obvious question is how do I use this information in the formation of my rank list? I only have 9 interviews, so I am not really in the position to not rank a program, but this activity really gives me pause about the program. Is this an automatic "do not rank" type of question?
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I would report them. We (students) work way too hard to get to this point, and we need whatever (arguably, minor) protection "the rules" give us. And the child question is equally awful and should never be asked. Jerks!
 
Hmm...

I think both issues are sketchy, but one is more complicated than the other - the one about where you ranked the program.

If you report it now, it will likely be fine for this current match. But, if you don't match, and they get a penalty, you'd better believe everyone will know who you are the next time around, and it's going to make at least some programs wary (completely unfair, but plausible).

If you don't report, and you do match somewhere, then why push the issue? It's not fair, it sucks, but it's not the end of the world. I got asked by SUNY-Downstate's chairman (I don't mind being completely public - he asked me, I never reported it) where I'd rank them. It was unusual, but I was ready for it and I said it would likely be my number one, and smiled broadly.

The child question - that is just total crap. But, the same thing - if you report it, and don't match, then fair or not, you may still come out looking bad because there are still a lot of asshats in the medical field. For this, I'd wait until you do match, and then when you write your anonymous interview impressions (which you'd better do, b/c we all did it!!), identify the program/person that did it.

That's my advice.
-S
 
I agree that these questions are ridiculous, and that two is very clearly a match violation. I agree with an above poster that you should really think long and hard about ranking this program . . . if they are willing to clearly violate the rules and make you feel uncomfortable as a stranger, imagine what they might do to you when you are a resident!!!

That being said, one must cut the interviewer some slack. I was asked several times whether I was married, had children, etc, but I honestly think it was because the interviewer just wanted to get to know me, or tell me how family-oriented the program/hospital/city was. Alternatively, when I said I was single, one interviewer enthusiastically told me how contrary to what one may imagine, the "single's scene" was alive and well in that relatively small city (he had in fact met his current wife as a resident there).

So, not all borderline questions are said with malicious intent, but if you feel very uncomfortable or a clear violation occurs, I would consider reporting it and at the very least not rank that program (because it may be an indication of what is to come but worse!).
 
Simul D - asshat? Really? That's your go-to?

I honestly laughed out loud when I read that. Funny stuff.
 
Out of curiosity, do program directors have access to the various specialties you are applying to? I had a friend who was applying to both rad onc and internal medicine as backup. During one of his medicine interviews the program director flat out said "I know you're applying to rad onc. If you entered our program would you leave if a rad onc spot opened up?" And then proceeded to grill him about it. I thought this was ridiculous. That's absolute intimidation.

Haha, but knowing myself, if I were asked that same question in that same situation I would flat out lie while staring the PD straight in the eye. I'm an excellent straight-faced liar... :laugh:
 
They do not know where you are applying or what programs you are applying to. Almost certainly a LOR or the Dean's letter mentioned his/her interest in Radiation Oncology. While it is intimidating, the program director for IM obviously has a legitimate concern.

Pewl said:
Out of curiosity, do program directors have access to the various specialties you are applying to? I had a friend who was applying to both rad onc and internal medicine as backup. During one of his medicine interviews the program director flat out said "I know you're applying to rad onc. If you entered our program would you leave if a rad onc spot opened up?" And then proceeded to grill him about it. I thought this was ridiculous. That's absolute intimidation.

Haha, but knowing myself, if I were asked that same question in that same situation I would flat out lie while staring the PD straight in the eye. I'm an excellent straight-faced liar... :laugh:
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I was recently asked in an interview:

-Do you consider yourself a Christian?
-Do you believe in the original sin?
-Why was there a need for a Savior?
and a couple of other religious questions
 
I don't like it when they ask me (happened quite a few times) things like "Where have you interviewed?"; "To what other programs in the area have you applied?"; "What other interviews do you have scheduled?". :eek:

I also don't like it when interviewers ask me how various programs I rotated at compare to each other and to their program. It's like a new gf asking me how she compares to my exes - really, there is no right answer, ever!!!
 
It's not that... As a chief, I interviewed people and after about, oh, 2 interviews it gets pretty boring, so I asked them about their listed hobbies and other interviews, because I does not care about your retrospective review of some god awfully small subset of a disease that was treated with RT and did slightly better than without RT that I swear I will I never come across again.

People are just curious about other programs. Like sneaking a peak at the urinal.
 
SimulD said:
I does not care about your retrospective review of some god awfully small subset of a disease that was treated with RT and did slightly better than without RT that I swear I will I never come across again.
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:laugh: Awesome. I often wonder how awfully boring it must be to be on the other side of the table.
 
wagy27 said:
I don't know, it seems like some of you are getting worked up over things. I think it all depends on the context and the way things are said. Many times attendings ask questions like are you married/kids to get to try to know candidates and focus questions/discussions appropriately. . .
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Those kind of questions are against the law, not simply a match violation. I understand what you are saying and why someone might want to know, but that doesn't make it right.

Also, there is no context where these questions would be considered OK:

RadOncorBust said:
I was recently asked in an interview:

-Do you consider yourself a Christian?
-Do you believe in the original sin?
-Why was there a need for a Savior?
and a couple of other religious questions
Click to expand...
 
^ I think it speaks to the culture of the place. If you want to BS with me for 15 minutes, cool ( I'm even ok with pretending to drool over your CV), but I dont want to gossip. I want to go to a program that has a good vibe, and there are def a few that simply do not (for me).
 
I think talking about family/ single life / hobbies is completely normal ( even if it is a match violation). However, if an attending can't be normal for one interview, he/she is not going to be normal for 4 years.

Just like programs screen awkward candidates, I guess I am trying to screen awkward programs ( and they exist )
 
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