can I say that I love emergency medicine during interview?

[CremasterFlash]

so by some miracle I've wound up with interviews looming on the horizon.

i've been working in emergency medicine research and trauma for the past 3 years while i did my postbacc. my volunteer experience prior to that was also in an emergency dept. i really like this specialty for a bunch of reasons that i think i can articulate.

when an interviewer asks "what specialty do you see yourself in?" is it kosher to tell the truth (emergency medicine, but I haven't experienced other specialties and I am likely to change my mind as i explore?)

two reasons for my reluctance:

1. i get the feeling that emergency medicine gets relatively little respect from other specialties and so if i'm talking to an ob-gyn at a top school they might think of me as fodder for "lesser" programs. i am not saying that this is true or that it makes sense, i'm just saying it's my gut feeling. i know that all schools graduate lots of people who go into emergency medicine, but maybe this isn't something they want to emphasize?

2. i don't want to come off as having made up my mind with relatively little information at my disposal.

i read a book on the med school interview process and it didn't answer this question.

as always, many thanks for any guidance.

cf

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[student1799]

when an interviewer asks "what specialty do you see yourself in?" is it kosher to tell the truth (emergency medicine, but I haven't experienced other specialties and I am likely to change my mind as i explore?)

This is a perfect answer.

two reasons for my reluctance:

1. i get the feeling that emergency medicine gets relatively little respect from other specialties and so if i'm talking to an ob-gyn at a top school they might think of me as fodder for "lesser" programs. i am not saying that this is true or that it makes sense, i'm just saying it's my gut feeling. i know that all schools graduate lots of people who go into emergency medicine, but maybe this isn't something they want to emphasize?

2. i don't want to come off as having made up my mind with relatively little information at my disposal.

On point 1, this certainly used to be the case, but I think it's changing. There's a big movement going on to make the practice of EM more academic and evidence-based, and the specialty is starting to get a lot more respect. So I wouldn't say it's the kiss of death to say you like it.

Besides, if you give the answer I quoted above, you're covered, because you've acknowledged that you don't know that much yet and are open to change.

Regardless of what specialty you may be interested in, I think it's probably unwise to state point-blank in interviews that you're committed to that one and no other ("I want to be a pediatric neurosurgeon"). Adcoms do tend to see that sort of thing as immature, and if you happen to run across an interviewer who looks down on your specialty of choice (for whatever reason), it could bias them against you.

 

[gman33]

Not sure how often that question comes up, and it's not really important. Until you do some rotations, etc, you have no real frame of reference for making that decision.

If it does come up, you could talk about your experience in EM. I'd also say something about looking forward to other experiences to see what other aspects of medicine you enjoy.

 

[nontrdgsbuiucmd]

In answering this question, I'd focus on what the interviewer likely wants to get from your answer rather than thinking about it as simply answering a question. Interviews in this way are way different from a normal conversation with a friend.

The way I'd interprete the intent of this question is: has this person thought seriously about medicine in a specific & detailed way, and are they open to the many new things they will learn?

In which case your answer as mentioned by student is perfect. It says, yes I have experience with a specific type of medicine, no I'm not closing off the possibility of changing to a different specialty if my experiences and knowledge gained over the next four years indicate a better fit elsewhere.

I can see how some admissions committees would be quite concerned if an applicant was only considering one path; that seems to indicate that, even after four years of massive amounts of additional data, they had made a decision that was not subject to change. To some, that may not sound very scientific.

 

[thoffen]

You're overthinking things.

1) Show enthusiasm and solid reasoning for what you like
2) Demonstrate respect and open-mindedness

 

[MeowMix]

It's not that people look down on EM as a field. It's that 50% of all premeds seem to want to go into EM. It is horribly predictable. At least you have a better-than-most background to talk about. But there is nothing exciting or unusual about a premed saying EM is the love of their life.

Now, if you said geriatrics, that would be unusual and a good topic of conversation.