2015-2016 APPIC Internship Interview Thread

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Hi there, Has anyone received any information regarding the interview day for Southwest Behavioral? I know the open house portion is from 9-11 but did anyone receive info re: room number, address, anything?
 
BustTheSMIstigma said:
As I said, I did email them (right when I submitted my application) about wanting an interview and never heard anything. It makes me really upset to know that others heard back about interviews, and my request was completely ignored. I guess my only option is to try again and hope that they respond this time.
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That's really unfortunate and seems unfair. It doesn't make sense to me that they don't make on-site visits available to anyone is interested. I know it is important to me to do on-site visits with my top choices, so I would feel disappointed and upset if a site that does allow on-site visits didn't allow me to visit. Seems unfair.
 
CounselingPsychAU said:
Going into interviews, I feel like I have quite a bit of information about the sites to which I applied (thanks to thorough websites and handbooks). But, looking ahead to ranking the sites- I know I need to ask questions wisely of the sites during interviews. The examples of questions to ask given by APAGS and others seem to mostly address information already listed online. For those of you who have done this before or have already completed interviews- any recommendations in terms of “I’m so glad I asked this question” or such?
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With each site I visited last year, I found that I learned things about the site/internship that weren't in the brochure, so that generated questions for me asking for clarification or elaboration. Personality and workload were important factors for me "fit-wise" so I asked the current interns questions regarding working relationships with psychology faculty and other staff we'd work closely with (i.e., in an inpatient setting, having to work with psychiatrists, social workers, nurses, etc - some interns were upfront that the non-psychology staff were horrible to work with, and that's important to know) and what a typical day/week looked like for the interns - "Is it realistic to keep to a 40-hour work week? What are the expectations regarding number of reports per month/rotation? Do you find yourself taking work home? How tight are deadlines? How long are therapy sessions typically?", etc. Another question that came up a lot for current interns was, "What made you choose/like this site?" I found the conversations/questions with the current interns to be phenomenally more helpful and enlightening than talking with the faculty. Since you are applying to be an intern, you want to know the real deal of what it's like to be an intern at that site. The faculty can only understand interns' experiences to a certain degree. Rolling this into interviews with supervisors/TDs, you can ask, "What sort of feedback have you gotten from previous interns?," "Are you planning to make changes to the program this upcoming year?" (you'd be surprised how many people are using outdated materials or have tweaked things about the program in the last 4 months, so this question actually gets useful info), and things like that. Have some question ideas in mind, but honestly, you will find yourself coming up with a ton of questions when you're on site and talking to folks, and you'll hear questions other applicants ask and will probably find a few to add to your repertoire in future interviews.
 
Has anyone interviewing at the Denver VA received additional information about their interview date (e.g., schedule) since being contacted by phone? Thanks!
 
Most noteworthy thing you've learned about this proceaa from your experiences or other interviewees in interviewing thus far?? Just thought despite the competitive nature of this process we could help eachother out here.

I guess mine would be something I observed from another interviewee at my first interview: even if you're not interested in the site, act like you are. A fellow interviewee looked soo annoyed and bothered to be a part of the interview! Our non verbals are just as important in this process as they are in therapy!!
 
IntrnshpReady said:
Most noteworthy thing you've learned about this process from your experiences or other interviewees in interviewing thus far?? Just thought despite the competitive nature of this process we could help eachother out here.

I guess mine would be something I observed from another interviewee at my first interview: even if you're not interested in the site, act like you are. A fellow interviewee looked soo annoyed and bothered to be a part of the interview! Our non verbals are just as important in this process as they are in therapy!!
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I'd say I have learned several things.
1. Wait to speak and maybe rehearse your question in your mind first before asking it.
2. Be ready for anything. I had a question about why I stayed in X location for so long and was completely caught off guard by the question (I managed to salvage an answer out of it). In sum, the questions may have nothing to do with your qualifications, the site, etc.
3. Have copies of your CV with you. I had mine with me, but was definitely still asked for one during my very first interview.
4. Have an open mind going into your interview. A site I had written off as #9 on my list shot up to #1 after my interview there. I had some misconceptions about the site based on their brochure and talking to previous interviewees/interns. Be your own judge!
5. A lot of the "important" things like quality of living, hours, etc. can easily be gathered by talking to the interns. Save these types of questions for the interns (and not the supervisors).
6. I still think an important question for current interns is......would you still rank X site similarly knowing what you know now about the site now as an intern? And then as a follow-up....do other interns in your cohort feel the same way? Why or why not? This was very enlightening (at least for me).
7. Have a ton of questions ready to ask potential supervisors. I had one 45 minute interview where they only asked me 2 questions and I was expected to ask them questions the remainder of the time. This proved difficult, but still manageable, for a site that had a huge brochure that I had read over several times.
8. Remember that the interview is only A PART of the process, so try not to stress out too much! They have a lot of what they need to know about you from your application. Part of what they're trying to do is see that you're enjoyable to work with and that they could see you as a therapist working with their patients. With that said, they will most likely not remember your application during your interview with them....so remember to hit the key points when they ask questions that could easily be gathered from your application.
9. Finally, I'd say looking over sample interview questions was super helpful. With that said, try NOT to have a rehearsed response that sounds scripted. Instead, I came up with some bullet points that I knew I would talk about for certain questions.
 
IntrnshpReady said:
Most noteworthy thing you've learned about this proceaa from your experiences or other interviewees in interviewing thus far?? Just thought despite the competitive nature of this process we could help eachother out here.

I guess mine would be something I observed from another interviewee at my first interview: even if you're not interested in the site, act like you are. A fellow interviewee looked soo annoyed and bothered to be a part of the interview! Our non verbals are just as important in this process as they are in therapy!!
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A lot of the questions I have been asked are more personal in nature (hobbies, personality traits, etc,), so don't be afraid to be yourself!
 
PsychDoc007 said:
A lot of the questions I have been asked are more personal in nature (hobbies, personality traits, etc,), so don't be afraid to be yourself!
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I totally agree with this statement. So far I've interviewed at six counseling centers and most of them have asked me about self-care. I have been very honest in my responses (e.g., social support, hiking, music) and have tried integrating how I could envision my self-care to look like while on internship. For example, I play a musical instrument and through research have found community bands/orchestras in the towns of my sites; therefore, I will often mention that I would consider joining X band while on internship to ensure I had that dedicated time for self-care.
 
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sms06h said:
That's really unfortunate and seems unfair. It doesn't make sense to me that they don't make on-site visits available to anyone is interested. I know it is important to me to do on-site visits with my top choices, so I would feel disappointed and upset if a site that does allow on-site visits didn't allow me to visit. Seems unfair.
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Thank you for the validating message. 👍
I was hoping to have the opportunity to visit, because it's a site I'm really interested in and I'd like to get a feel for the atmosphere there. I've already found that my opinion of sites has changed after I've visited them. I would be afraid to rank them very high if I don't have the chance to meet them and vice versa. We'll see what happens...
 
Anyone have any information or a brochure for

Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health (LACDMH) - Correctional and Community Mental Health Psychology Training Program?
 
Is anyone using/has anyone found any particularly useful apps for organizing this monster travel season? I just discovered TripIt, but want more. An app to import all of the interview schedules and locations would be ideal - does something like that exist?
 
Hope4Grad said:
Question for the thread:

I have two interviews in a row, one day after another, in two separate cities. Is it rude to email the first training director and ask them when interviews will be over that day since I have to book my flight for the next city asap? The TD said they would be sending out a "more detailed schedule" but I haven't yet received it.
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I'm also interviewing at Canadaigua and have never been there before. Will you be flying in to Rochester?
 
BustTheSMIstigma said:
As I said, I did email them (right when I submitted my application) about wanting an interview and never heard anything. It makes me really upset to know that others heard back about interviews, and my request was completely ignored. I guess my only option is to try again and hope that they respond this time.
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Oops sorry - I missed that you said you emailed them. I actually emailed them like 2 weeks after I submitted my application and he didn't get back to me for about a week. Then when I was trying to schedule my phone interviews with faculty, most of them suggested that I email him again to see about coming in person. Then I emailed him again and that's when he said all the in person slots were full. So now I scheduled a couple 60 minute phone interviews with faculty I'm interested in. So hopefully you get a chance to talk to them over the phone. It is a bummer that we can't just go see the site!
 
Hope4Grad said:
Is anyone using/has anyone found any particularly useful apps for organizing this monster travel season? I just discovered TripIt, but want more. An app to import all of the interview schedules and locations would be ideal - does something like that exist?
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WisNeuro said:
Google calendar. It should automatically import flight, hotel, and rental car information directly from gmail. After that, just add in some individual interview details, and voila.
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Or you could us an old school planner. Some of us dinosaurs find them highly reliable - i.e., not going to fail you in the absence of wifi or power sources. The only thing you have to fear is getting it wet!
 
Pragma said:
Or you could us an old school planner. Some of us dinosaurs find them highly reliable - i.e., not going to fail you in the absence of wifi or power sources. The only thing you have to fear is getting it wet!
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Do they even make paper planners anymore? Did you have to order one from your local Gutenberg press?
 
internshiphopes said:
Has anyone interviewing at the Denver VA received additional information about their interview date (e.g., schedule) since being contacted by phone? Thanks!
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I received a letter via snail mail that included interview information and a parking pass.
 
WisNeuro said:
Do they even make paper planners anymore? Did you have to order one from your local Gutenberg press?
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I don't know about all of the other dinosaurs using paper planners, but I had to hand make my own paper planner. I felled a tree, made the mash, let it dry, and strung it together using string made from sheep's wool for which I had to trade stress baked goods to obtain. It was a really great procrastination DIY activity, though I must admit...having to work by candlelight was an intense challenge.

In all seriousness, paper planners FTW - gave me the opportunity to explore my local office supply store (always a great field trip). I don't know if I'm just rigid (most likely the case), but I haven't been able to successfully shift to an electronic calendar.

My dinosaur name would be Sarcastisaurus.
 
emhpsych said:
I don't know about all of the other dinosaurs using paper planners, but I had to hand make my own paper planner. I felled a tree, made the mash, let it dry, and strung it together using string made from sheep's wool for which I had to trade stress baked goods to obtain. It was a really great procrastination DIY activity, though I must admit...having to work by candlelight was an intense challenge.

In all seriousness, paper planners FTW - gave me the opportunity to explore my local office supply store (always a great field trip). I don't know if I'm just rigid (most likely the case), but I haven't been able to successfully shift to an electronic calendar.

My dinosaur name would be Sarcastisaurus.
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I love paper planners. I have tried using iCal and others, but paper planners make me feel like I have more control because I'm writing everything down. Plus it helps me memorize the itinerary as well and I use the planner as backup.

Dinosaur name: Sleepasaurus
 
Are any of you traveling to interviews with family? Any tips?

I'm planning a trip with my family because it was hard on my little one to be away so much in December. I'm giving myself plenty of time between sites for rest and a little family time, but I feel like I'm going in blind.
 
NY-Psych-Dream said:
Are any of you traveling to interviews with family? Any tips?

I'm planning a trip with my family because it was hard on my little one to be away so much in December. I'm giving myself plenty of time between sites for rest and a little family time, but I feel like I'm going in blind.
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I'm taking my family (husband and toddler) with me for one of my interviews. We're planning to arrive a day early to spend time together exploring the area. He'll take care of our daughter on the actual interview day and I'll ask him to make sure he doesn't take her anywhere where we might overlap. My only worry is that my daughter may sleep poorly the night before the interview since she tends to wake up a lot when we stay in hotels...but I'm used to not getting much sleep so it's no big deal. How old is your little one?
 
I haven't seen anything posted about West Virginia University Health Sciences (1637). Their notification day is not until 1/6/16, but they notified much earlier in the month in the past. Has anyone seen them send out? It seems so late for any invites to go out still, but I just haven't seen anything one way or another with the site.
 
Justanothergrad said:
I haven't seen anything posted about West Virginia University Health Sciences (1637). Their notification day is not until 1/6/16, but they notified much earlier in the month in the past. Has anyone seen them send out? It seems so late for any invites to go out still, but I just haven't seen anything one way or another with the site.
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According to their website, you have to email to request a site visit. Myself and at least one other person on this forum emailed them shortly after applying and have not heard anything.

I'm wondering if I should email again or just wait until the 6th? At this point I wouldn't be able to physically travel there but would at least like to phone interview.
 
Has anyone who is interviewing at American Lake (Tacoma) VA heard anything about the schedule of the day? Interview is on 1/6 and I haven't heard anything since being offered an interview.
 
BuckeyePsych said:
According to their website, you have to email to request a site visit. Myself and at least one other person on this forum emailed them shortly after applying and have not heard anything.

I'm wondering if I should email again or just wait until the 6th? At this point I wouldn't be able to physically travel there but would at least like to phone interview.
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I would email the faculty that you're most interested in working with about scheduling a phone interview - they've been really nice about phone interview scheduling. In a random turn of events, I am visiting in person now because they had a slot open up!
 
hawaii0307 said:
Has anyone who is interviewing at American Lake (Tacoma) VA heard anything about the schedule of the day? Interview is on 1/6 and I haven't heard anything since being offered an interview.
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Last year they only had an open house. Are you sure they are doing actual interviews this year?
 
hawaii0307 said:
Has anyone who is interviewing at American Lake (Tacoma) VA heard anything about the schedule of the day? Interview is on 1/6 and I haven't heard anything since being offered an interview.
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I am interviewing there and haven't heard anything either. Hopefully they will send it soon. I will probably email on Monday if I haven't received anything by the afternoon. My travel plans are already set so it doesn't affect that for me. If it affects yours, I didn't get the impression that they would be bothered by you emailing and asking. See you there! 🙂
 
psych644 said:
I am interviewing there and haven't heard anything either. Hopefully they will send it soon. I will probably email on Monday if I haven't received anything by the afternoon. My travel plans are already set so it doesn't affect that for me. If it affects yours, I didn't get the impression that they would be bothered by you emailing and asking. See you there! 🙂
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I'm too neurotic, so I emailed today! I'll let you know if I hear anything!
 
poutpoutfish said:
I'm taking my family (husband and toddler) with me for one of my interviews. We're planning to arrive a day early to spend time together exploring the area. He'll take care of our daughter on the actual interview day and I'll ask him to make sure he doesn't take her anywhere where we might overlap. My only worry is that my daughter may sleep poorly the night before the interview since she tends to wake up a lot when we stay in hotels...but I'm used to not getting much sleep so it's no big deal. How old is your little one?
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Poutpoutfish (Btw, is that from the book??),

My daughter is 19 months and just learned the word, "No." She and my husband are accompanying me to 4 interviews because they are back-to-back, making it impossible for me to travel back and forth across the country.

For my December interviews, I got there the night before and left right after the interviews. I think in some respects having the family makes things easier and in others it could prove to be more difficult.
 
How is everyone feeling about the on-site interviews, especially those that are like 5-6 hours long? I've already done 6 phone/Skype interviews, but my first on-site interview is coming up on Monday. Not fully sure of what to expect...
 
sms06h said:
How is everyone feeling about the on-site interviews, especially those that are like 5-6 hours long? I've already done 6 phone/Skype interviews, but my first on-site interview is coming up on Monday. Not fully sure of what to expect...
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The ones I have been to so far have had similar formats. They all had an information session, a 'group interview' that really seemed more like applicants getting their questions answered, a lunch either with faculty or current interns, a site tour, and between 3 and 6 individual or dyad (2 faculty, one applicant) interviews. There was some downtime in between individual interviews, but not much.
 
SLB-CO said:
The ones I have been to so far have had similar formats. They all had an information session, a 'group interview' that really seemed more like applicants getting their questions answered, a lunch either with faculty or current interns, a site tour, and between 3 and 6 individual or dyad (2 faculty, one applicant) interviews. There was some downtime in between individual interviews, but not much.
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Thank you for sharing!! That is really helpful! I have been wondering about the "group interview," as my Monday interview has a group interview time scheduled. I was curious what that may look like, but it sounds a little bit more low key than what I am imagining.
 
sms06h said:
Thank you for sharing!! That is really helpful! I have been wondering about the "group interview," as my Monday interview has a group interview time scheduled. I was curious what that may look like, but it sounds a little bit more low key than what I am imagining.
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Mine were all super low key in the group interview. One was very large though and felt a bit unwieldy. Good luck. You'll rock it! 🙂
 
I know this is sort of a repeat question but my anxiety and neuroticism is driving me mad.
People have said there are "holding rooms" etc for your belongings, but u still feel like I will look like an absolute weirdo if i bring my suitcase. So essentially my question is- how many of you have done it this interview season and was it noticed/how was it receoved? Did it feel weird? Also what TYPE of sites have you gone to with your luggage? Thanks- nuerotisaurus Rex

Ps. Couldn't live without my paper planner for the above discussion
 
tartar said:
I'm also interviewing at Canadaigua and have never been there before. Will you be flying in to Rochester?
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For tartar and anyone else interviewing at the Canandaigua VA...have you found it nary impossible to get a confirmation/response from the TD about your interview date? I am getting really antsy because I responded to the invitation to interview with my date selection, following which has been complete radio silence! I emailed again, politely, to make sure that the TD got my date selection response...again, nothing. I called and got a voice message. I don't want to send too many messages but I am not hearing a darned thing. Nothing. Are others having this same problem????
 
IntrnshpReady said:
I know this is sort of a repeat question but my anxiety and neuroticism is driving me mad.
People have said there are "holding rooms" etc for your belongings, but u still feel like I will look like an absolute weirdo if i bring my suitcase. So essentially my question is- how many of you have done it this interview season and was it noticed/how was it receoved? Did it feel weird? Also what TYPE of sites have you gone to with your luggage? Thanks- nuerotisaurus Rex

Ps. Couldn't live without my paper planner for the above discussion
Click to expand...

I have a flight to catch right after my interview next Wednesday and I am planning to bring my carry-on suitcase to the interview. I'm sure this won't look weird, because they'll probably be other applicants in the same boat. Maybe you can ask another applicant who rented a car to put your stuff in their trunk. I'm debating about renting a car or taking a taxi to the interview. How weird would it be to Uber there?
 
Sunnyville102 said:
I have a flight to catch right after my interview next Wednesday and I am planning to bring my carry-on suitcase to the interview. I'm sure this won't look weird, because they'll probably be other applicants in the same boat. Maybe you can ask another applicant who rented a car to put your stuff in their trunk. I'm debating about renting a car or taking a taxi to the interview. How weird would it be to Uber there?
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Last year many applicants had suitcases with them. Also I took uber to most of my interviews 🙂
 
IntrnshpReady said:
I know this is sort of a repeat question but my anxiety and neuroticism is driving me mad.
People have said there are "holding rooms" etc for your belongings, but u still feel like I will look like an absolute weirdo if i bring my suitcase. So essentially my question is- how many of you have done it this interview season and was it noticed/how was it receoved? Did it feel weird? Also what TYPE of sites have you gone to with your luggage? Thanks- nuerotisaurus Rex

Ps. Couldn't live without my paper planner for the above discussion
Click to expand...
I'll have luggage with me because I'm flying out directly after all of my interviews. I have a small carry-on suitcase. I have brought luggage to all of my sites so far and I'd say at least 50% of the other applicants had as well. I think sites expect it and it hasn't been an issue. I've been to community mental health centers and academic medical centers.
 
IntrnshpReady said:
I know this is sort of a repeat question but my anxiety and neuroticism is driving me mad.
People have said there are "holding rooms" etc for your belongings, but u still feel like I will look like an absolute weirdo if i bring my suitcase. So essentially my question is- how many of you have done it this interview season and was it noticed/how was it receoved? Did it feel weird? Also what TYPE of sites have you gone to with your luggage? Thanks- nuerotisaurus Rex
Click to expand...

Holding rooms or spaces are super common. And I did it at several of my interviews since I had flights right after, and I was never the only one who brought along my luggage. There were always several others. It was received just fine, as they expected it (hence why they had holding rooms). The first interview I did this, I wondered the same thing as you but afterwards, it felt normal. I interviewed at children's hospitals, medical schools, and academic medical centers. Hopefully that eases your nerves.
 
Has anyone heard from the the Oscar G. Johnson VA Medical Center in Iron Mountain, Michigan? Their notification date was this Wednesday on 12/30 and haven't heard back from them. Much appreciated!
 
IntrnshpReady said:
I know this is sort of a repeat question but my anxiety and neuroticism is driving me mad.
People have said there are "holding rooms" etc for your belongings, but u still feel like I will look like an absolute weirdo if i bring my suitcase. So essentially my question is- how many of you have done it this interview season and was it noticed/how was it receoved? Did it feel weird? Also what TYPE of sites have you gone to with your luggage? Thanks- nuerotisaurus Rex

Ps. Couldn't live without my paper planner for the above discussion
Click to expand...
I had to take my carry-on on two interviews. I asked in advanced if it was ok as they did not specify if they had a room. Both times it was fine. With the first I just left it in the main room and picked it up when leaving and with the second I just took it to each of the interviews. It wasn't weird at all. It was actually a funny conversation piece with one interviewer.
 
Just found a small hole in the pants of my suit.

Only wore it once so far for an interview. And now will spend tomorrow dropping the pants off at my moms so she can sew them up!

Wonder if I just get a new suit, because i know my neurotic self will keep thinking whether the stitching will hold throughout this interview process.
 
I am attending a consortium interview in which I have interviews at 3 of the sites in the consortium. In this consortium, you individually schedule the optional site visits outside of the interview time on days near the interview day. All of the sites gather at one location to do the interviews on a single interview day, so you have to drive to the individual site visit on your own time to do site visits on the days before and after. I was able to schedule 2 site visits, however, the 3rd site happens to offer a site visit at the same time as another site. When choosing which one to go to, I decided that the 3rd site is in a much less geographically reasonable place than the other 2 in comparison to where I need to go after, because of back to back interviews at another site not in this consortium, and so I decided I wouldn't try to coordinate driving there. I am equally interested in both sites knowing what I know currently at least about them. I am now thinking about if it's better for me to offer to fly to just this site to do a site visit on a totally different day than what they've offered, after I've finished all the interviews but before match day (maybe at the end of January) or if it's better for me to just give up on visiting that site and hope for the best in terms of ranking without having been there. Any thoughts?
 
Hi everyone. For those of you interviewing at Appalachian State University, do you know what case we need to be ready to discuss for the interview? In their email, they stated to review the case and be prepared to talk about it (clinical impressions, etc.). I am not sure if this is a case we will be emailed before the interview, or if it is an actual case we have had. Thank you in advance!
 
ugh. sick. ugh, not feeling like doing this at all.

<<self-pity moment>>
 
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