asking for an interview?

[Anasazi]

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I would appreciate any insight on my current dilemma, I hope this is the appropriate forum for my question. I am an MSIV about to begin a four week away sub-i at a program that I have applied to and have not heard from yet. I believe my application is pretty competitive and this program would most likely be at the top of my list were I able to interview and rank it, though it is probably considered a middle-tier program by most.

When I begin my rotation next week, should I mention my application to attendings and residents soon after I begin? Would it be inappropriate to try to schedule an informal interview with the chairman or the PD to discuss my interest in their program before I am either officially invited or rejected? At one place I did a sub-i at, I mistakenly assumed that the program knew I was interested, so I just did my best and stayed relatively quiet and ended up having a discussion with an attending at the last day that assured me an interview, however he told me I should have mentioned my interest earlier so that I could have met some of the more influential faculty.

So I suppose my dilemma boils down to the following: besides working hard and learning lots, how aggressive should I be about discussing my interest in the program with the powers that be before I have an invitation or even after I receive a rejection?
Thanks for any input you might have.

 

[Winged Scapula]

You should be very assertive.

If you are there doing an elective and have not received an interview, there is nothing wrong with letting the PD and other faculty know you have applied there. If, by the 2nd week (presuming a 4 week elective), you have no heard anything, I would ask the program coordinator/PD what the status of your application is and to reiterate your interest in the program.

Some will offer you a courtesy interview (ie, they interview everyone who does an elective), some will arrange an interview while you are there and others expect you to come back for the formal interviews.

Many programs receive hundreds of applications and they may not be aware that yours is one of them; definitely let them know.

 

[Anasazi]

Thanks a lot Dr. Cox, that helps quite a bit. Suppose I receive a rejection letter early on in the rotation? Assuming it was done without knowledge of my rotation and earnest interest in the program, should I still follow the path you suggested? I would imagine that once they become aware, IF they like what they've seen of me, they could still change their mind on my status and offer an interview. Does that sound plausible?

 

[Winged Scapula]

Thanks a lot Dr. Cox, that helps quite a bit. Suppose I receive a rejection letter early on in the rotation? Assuming it was done without knowledge of my rotation and earnest interest in the program, should I still follow the path you suggested? I would imagine that once they become aware, IF they like what they've seen of me, they could still change their mind on my status and offer an interview. Does that sound plausible?

Sure...you can always ask them to rereview your application in light of the information they have from your rotation. They may very well change their minds (or not, but at least you will have asked).

 

[NotAProgDirector]

Asking the program administrator can be an easy way to make this work. An email stating "I'm going to be rotating at your fine institution for the next 4 weeks and, should my application be chosen for an interview, I would love to interview while I was here". I'm sure you can find a better way to state it than that.

 

[DoctorWannaBe]

I did an away elective and haven't been invited for an interview yet. The program's website says they don't interview all people who do rotations there, but the chief resident said they interview everyone unless the applicant really screws up their rotation. My evaluation there wasn't too favorable because the doctor who evaluated me didn't work with me too much. Should I contact the program director and request an interview? If so, how long should I wait before asking since the Dean's letters just came out?

 

[Ilovelamp5]

I have a similar problem. I have not heard back from my top two choice programs concerning interviews. I did an away elective at one of the programs, and met with the PDs of both programs. I told both PDs that there school was in my top two choices for residency and I would really appreciate an interview there...but still have not heard from either. I met with them in mid-October. Should I be worried? Is there something else I should/can do?

 

[Pir8DeacDoc]

Some of you guys are running the risk of being annoying, IMHO. If you have made your intentions known in the usual fashion (as mentioned by PrgDir and Cox) then you've done your part. More than that makes you seem desperate and annoying. Plus, if you have to beg and plead for an interview do you really think they'll rank you? In a competitive field it might make you feel better to have X number of interviews but not as helpful once you realize some of them you had to plead for (i.e. maybe you aren't what they're looking for and are therefore wasting your/their time)...

 

[enanareina]

Some of you guys are running the risk of being annoying, IMHO. If you have made your intentions known in the usual fashion (as mentioned by PrgDir and Cox) then you've done your part. More than that makes you seem desperate and annoying. Plus, if you have to beg and plead for an interview do you really think they'll rank you? In a competitive field it might make you feel better to have X number of interviews but not as helpful once you realize some of them you had to plead for (i.e. maybe you aren't what they're looking for and are therefore wasting your/their time)...

I doubt any of us want to be considered annoying or want to nag. I am in a similar situation. After an away in August at my top choice program, during which time I tried to let it be known I'd like to go there, and receiving a LoR from my attending at this program, I still haven't received an interview. I'm just curious as to whether it's inappropriate at this point to try to contact the program director (or even staff in the residency office) to inquire about interviews, or whether that would be too much. Otherwise, I have a competitive app in non-competitive specialty (psych) and have heard from all other programs I applied to, so I'm a little concerned as to why I haven't heard from this particular one that I liked so much...🙁

 

[mouseboy]

I am in a similar position. Doing an away elective at a school currently but yet have not received an interview. My question in addition to those above is, what is the best way to approach asking for an informal meeting or formal interview? Is it best to pop in and ask the program coordinator if you can set up a meeting with a PD (running the risk they may say no)? Or is an email to the PD the best approach? The resident I'm on with now said I should email the PD since he is very low key but I don't want to be annoying. Any thoughts? If the aProg Director could chime in I would really appreciate it. 🙂

 

[NotAProgDirector]

I doubt any of us want to be considered annoying or want to nag. I am in a similar situation. After an away in August at my top choice program, during which time I tried to let it be known I'd like to go there, and receiving a LoR from my attending at this program, I still haven't received an interview. I'm just curious as to whether it's inappropriate at this point to try to contact the program director (or even staff in the residency office) to inquire about interviews, or whether that would be too much. Otherwise, I have a competitive app in non-competitive specialty (psych) and have heard from all other programs I applied to, so I'm a little concerned as to why I haven't heard from this particular one that I liked so much...🙁

I would contact the program admin next week if you haven't heard anything. Be polite and honest -- you are very excited about the program, are in the process of finalizing your travel plans, hadn't heard from them, and wanted to make sure that your app was complete.

I am in a similar position. Doing an away elective at a school currently but yet have not received an interview. My question in addition to those above is, what is the best way to approach asking for an informal meeting or formal interview? Is it best to pop in and ask the program coordinator if you can set up a meeting with a PD (running the risk they may say no)? Or is an email to the PD the best approach? The resident I'm on with now said I should email the PD since he is very low key but I don't want to be annoying. Any thoughts? If the aProg Director could chime in I would really appreciate it. 🙂

It is totally fine to contact the PD. In addition, if you are currently rotating at that program, it's also fine to ask if you could interview while you are already there (if this prog is in the same city as your school, then this is obviously less important). Just be polite, ask if there is any further information they need to help with your file.

 

[enanareina]

I would contact the program admin next week if you haven't heard anything. Be polite and honest -- you are very excited about the program, are in the process of finalizing your travel plans, hadn't heard from them, and wanted to make sure that your app was complete.



It is totally fine to contact the PD. In addition, if you are currently rotating at that program, it's also fine to ask if you could interview while you are already there (if this prog is in the same city as your school, then this is obviously less important). Just be polite, ask if there is any further information they need to help with your file.

Thank you for the great advice!

 

[Anasazi]

I have some news about my current away rotation. I spoke with an attending about who to see about my application, and he graciously showed me to the program coordinator's office, where I was informed that I had been offered an interview nearly six weeks earlier! I was on the "invited but not responded" list. I was pleased to hear that, but a little concerned that the invitation did not appear in either my email or ERAS account. It makes me wonder if this program coordinator is disorganized (it is her first year dealing with the match) or if there is a possible glitch in the system. It shows that a phone call to a place you've not heard from may turn out in your favor.

 

[enanareina]

I called the program coordinator on Monday, gave her the "I'm getting my travel in order, and I haven't heard from you guys yet, but I want to let you know I'm still interested", and it turned out she was in the middle of typing my letter. Since I was already on the phone, we set the interview right then.

Whether the phone call helped or not, I certainly received the outcome I had hoped for, so thanks again, aprogdirector!

 

[Winged Scapula]

Congrats to both of you! A little FYI: make sure to check your junk mailbox. You may have settings on your email that blocks certain senders.

 

[Rafo]

Something similar to what has been said happened to me, and to make things even worse it happened with the program I´m most interested in. I did an elective at this hospital and everything went fantastic so I was expecting to get an interview...but days went by and I was not getting any news from them, so I decided to contact them and guess what? they had already invited me almost two weeks before. I was sure I had not received anything, because I check my spam folder every day. But luckily, now I´m in the process of confirming the date of my IV.

This experience has prompted me to start writing to the programs I´m most interested in and I have not heard from yet...hope I get the same results 😉.