do residents have a big input in the process??

[idiotpathic]

wanted to know if those lunches and tours and preiview dinners with the residents have a big say in the program decisons. bcoz i tend to b extremely frank with the residents and ask hard edged qs and tend to say whats on my mind.. wanted to know if they cud put in a word to that effect. kinda like this guy isnt interested in the program or is high maintainence.. this is for internal medicine and not for a uber competitive speciality with 1 resident per yr..

heard there was a program director on the forum. and other folks who have been thru the process.. do contribute..

also as an addendum - wanted to ask if its appropriate to ask qs or contribute answers during morning report or rounds? and if ur wrong or if u manage to put the intern in a spot, then does it count against u??

many thanx

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[Colinator]

this is just my personal opinion, but i would certainly NOT answer questions in morning report or at noon conferences. if you're wrong, it doesn't help your case. if you're right, big deal. basically, you just come across looking like an obnoxious gunner. you're there to observe and see how things work at each program. one applicant couldn't help but blurt out responses at a noon conferences at my last interview and my instinctive response was an eye-roll. i can't speak for people ranking you, but that guy wouldn't earn any brownie points with me.

as for whether residents have input into decisions ranking candidates or not . . . it varies a LOT by programs. some programs have residents officially interview candidates, others are involved directly in the ranking process, some have zero input. i'm just assuming everything i do and say is subject to observation when at dinner or on an interview. so i act like my normal self and hope that my approach will match me into a program that matches my style/personality.

 

[atsai3]

wanted to know if those lunches and tours and preiview dinners with the residents have a big say in the program decisons. bcoz i tend to b extremely frank with the residents and ask hard edged qs and tend to say whats on my mind.. wanted to know if they cud put in a word to that effect. kinda like this guy isnt interested in the program or is high maintainence.. this is for internal medicine and not for a uber competitive speciality with 1 resident per yr..

I would encourage you to be yourself at residency interviews. The application and interview process is about matching, that is, finding the program you think is the best match for yourself and, from the programs' perspective finding the applicants that they believe are the best match for them. Goes both ways. If you really are an ass, then you probably want to be at a program where that sort of personality will be tolerated and perhaps even encouraged. And from any given program's perspective, maybe they aren't so enthusiastic about accepting applicants who behave like asses. In any case, it's probably better if you (and the programs) find this out about each other earlier rather than later.

FWIW at my program, residents who interview applicants are asked to grade them and submit formal evaluations. AFAIK there are no other formal channels for residents to provide feedback to the PD about applicants.

-AT.

 

[mendel79]

i'm just a med student, too, but I would guess that at a program with only 1 resident per year, the residents would have plenty of input on the decision. You would be the one new guy they're working with.... they will have an opinion about whether you are a good fit for the program, and I can only hope that the PD would listen to them. At bigger programs, I'm not sure it would matter as much. That being said, I agree with the previous poster who said be yourself.
That's my 2 cents.

 

[Entei]

Personally, I think you should do everything you can to make yourself stand out at lunch. Please, eat with your elbows on the table. Talk with your mouth full. Feel free to complain loudly about the quality of the food. And I think it's safe to extend this advice to rounds. Have plenty of questions and answers, even if you don't think they're talking to you. Try to interrupt the speaker with your questions. Keep them on their toes. You want them to remember you for the stellar applicant you are!

Nice name, btw.