drPLUM said:
I'm an MS4 who will be "pressing the button" on September 1 and I've really enjoyed reading the forum so far. For you more experienced posters, what questions do you wish you had asked programs on interview days that you didn't know to ask? Looking back what were you evaluating about programs during your interviews. Just trying to get some insight.
Thanks and good luck to all in the match.
This is a difficult issue. Unless you had a really in-depth pathology rotation experience or did a PSF, you don't know some of the major issues to address when you ask questions. The best you can do is ask generic questions regarding job placements, camaraderie, teaching conferences, surg path rotations (specialized vs. general signout, for example), and department stability. However, once you start residency, you will see that these generic questions only address the tip of a bigger iceberg. You will start to appreciate this as you through day-to-day work activities. Questions that I didn't ask during interviews that address day-to-day operations include time management aspects (what portion of which days during surg path, for example, are spent doing what?). How often do slides and impox's get lost? How long does it take for autopsy slides to come out? How reliable is the impox lab? Are special stains reliable or does the quality vary? How much do PA's gross in? What do the PA's gross in?Now, of course, the answers to these questions aren't gonna make or break your rankings much (unless there is some egregiously bad stuff going on at a program). Furthermore, the more specific questions you ask about these things, you'll end up getting answers you don't fully understand and appreciate (cuz you haven't gone through the motions of day-to-day work yet).
Next, there are some departments with some flux and turnover in faculty...some in chairman positions. Sniff this out during your interviews. Ask how the new chairman search is coming. Ask if faculty will leave with the departing chairman (if the chairman is moving instead of retiring). Ask about the direction in which the new chairman is taking the department. Ask about what kind of faculty the new chairman will be trying to recruit. They should not hide this kind of stuff from you because lemme tell ya, word does get around. There is plenty of gossip in pathology.
Don't ask less pertinent questions like, "How is the ventilation in the morgue?" or "How often do we get free food?" especially if you only have time to ask a few questions.
And one last word of advice...if you ask generic questions, you will get generic canned answers. For example, "How much emphasis is placed on resident education?" They will respond with something like, "We place great importance on training of residents here." Yeah, of course they're gonna say that! They're supposed to say that! They could be lying out of their asses and you would never know. Instead of asking a generic question like that, ask pointed questions. For example, you could ask, "How much supervision and training do first year residents get from fellows and/or faculty?" and "Are there mechanisms in place for upper level residents or fellows to train the first year residents early in the first year?" Another pointed question you could ask is, "How long do residents get to spend with the slides after they are delivered from the histotechs (i.e., how much previewing time)?" Another way of getting at this is, "What is the turnaround time for diagnosis and signout after the specimens are submitted? (i.e., quick turnaround time means rushing to signout and less previewing time)."
Having said all of that, please be aware of the following...and this is important! You may not get an accurate impression of a program based on a one-day interview visit (slightly off topic, this has been a big reservation of mine with respect to commenting on programs I've visited during interviews on
www.scutwork.com ... I would love to do so but I fear that I may be misleading folks with flawed opinions and misconceptions). When you interview, you are giving canned answers to their questions because you want to impress them and want them to rank you highly. They are doing the same to you because they want you to rank them highly so their program will fill. If there is some shady **** going on in a program, not all programs will be honest and forthcoming...in fact they may hide that stuff from you...not on purpose but they won't address deficiencies unless you specifically ask them. You may learn some things about a program that you didn't find out during your interview visit until it's too late and you've matched at that program.
I think this is where second visits come in. If you're really stumped as to if a program is #1 or #2, spend an extra day or two shadowing a resident or residents in those programs (if you can afford it). Again, it's not the perfect solution (in fact, I think doing an away rotation is a great way to see how a program really operates and how the people really are...but now it's a bit too late for that). You may witness things that you didn't see (or they failed to show you) during your initial interview visit. Many people use second visits to make a more lasting impression and show more interest in the hope that this will influence their rankings. This works at some programs, I'm sure. Fine. But really use these visits to see if the program is RIGHT FOR YOU. At other programs (like where I'm at), second visits don't change your ranking since your "score" is determined by your application and how you did on your interviews. Do second visits to LEARN more about the program, more importantly. Don't go there planning to go down on a bunch of faculty, kissing their asses, and sucking their...
shut yo mouf
OK finally, I will say that no program is perfect. But you need to find the program that is right for you and your learning needs and learning styles. Ask pointed, focused, and incisive questions so that you can make the best, most educated decisions.
Holla!
