Dress/Formality at Pre-Interview Dinner w/ Residents

[Lefty]

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How formal/informal are the dinners with residents the night before the interview?

Also, how should interviewees dress? Sport coat? Slacks? Jeans? T-shirt? Silk shirt? Sandals? Any input? It hasn't been very explicit on any of my interview iteneraries. I'm sure lots of places do it differently too.

Thanks for any suggestions.

Lefty

 

[chillindrdude]

i just wore a pair of nice khakis, polo shirt, and brown leather shoes.
unless it says "shirt and tie" don't be "that guy" that wears a suit while everyone is casual

 

[axm397]

probably also depends on where the dinner is... Mine ranged from a formal sit down dinner to hanging out with beer and pizza. If you can find out where the dinner is, or just ask the secretary what the dress code is, that should help. In general though, I don't think a suit would be necessary. Jeans may be going overboard - would stick to stuff you might wear on the wards.

 

[Winged Scapula]

This is a perennial favorite topic. Please do a search, but in general, you are best off checking with the residency coordinator about location and appropriate dress (and IMHO, you are better off being a little better dressed than you are expected to be -ie, if they say "jeans are fine", wear khakis and a collared shirt).

 

[DOtobe]

For the dinners I have gone to so far, I wore dress pants and a sweater...professional-looking but not too casual. I'm sure the dress pants/sweater combo would work for guys as well. And as Kimberli said I would err on the side of dressing more formally than less...but don't wear a suit!

 

[Ursus Martimus]

I agree that the dinner plans somewhat dictate the dress the night before, but ho about this real life drama.

The interviews are on Saturday, am. The afternoon before, Friday, they have a required intro to the dept session, followed by Dinner with the residents. Add in one more variable, they extend the inviation fo ryou to "hang out in the dept" prior to the intro to see how the department works? So what do I wear on the "pre-interview day"

1. Shirt and tie, sounds reaonable, loose the tie at dinner?

2. How about during the day in the clinic? Shirt and tie with dorked out medical school white coat?

Help,

Fashionably Challenged

 

[Clay]

For the most part, I would always err on the side of over -- like Kim Cox suggested.

I would suggest for the night/day before the interview, the gentleman's uniform: Nice slacks (not everday khakis), shirt, tie, and a blue(traditional)/casual blazer. If you want to go more casual, then I would suggest sweater (V-neck) and tie OR blazer and no tie -- but the uniform never fails, even in "real life drama and/or day in the clinic". I would also avoid the white coat.

For the day of the interview, you should wear a nice/conservative suit -- JoB, the Brothers, etc. Avoid black suits, it makes you look like a med school applicant. 😎

 

[vietcongs]

Pre-interview cocktail parties? Anyone attend one yet? I've been invited to a few already. What do people wear? BIG QUESTION: to drink or not to drink? - of course, no drunken fun with the program directors and residents, but would having a few beers or martinis raise a red flag that vietcongs is nothing but a party girl? 😛

 

[joaquin13]

good question vietcongs! Am also worried about what to wear...and being a female, most of the answers provided above were nice polo shirt, khakis, etc. not exactly things I tend to wear. Any suggestions for females? I refuse to wear a nice skirt if its -10 degrees in Michigan or something!

 

[DJ Trauma]

i'm gonna sport black dress pants, boots, and a nice sweater if it's cold. if it's warmer, i'll ditch the pants and boots for a skirt and some snazzy (but closed-toed) shoes.

i think as long as you don't show too much skin and keep things business casual (meaning no denim, T-shirts, sweatshirts, or sandals), you can't go wrong.

 

[Harrie]

As far as alcohol, here is my policy so far...
I will have ONE drink if a good number of other people are drinking. I think that this portrays "hey, I'm fun", but avoids the drunken embarassment problem.

 

[CambieMD]

As far as alcohol, here is my policy so far...
I will have ONE drink if a good number of other people are drinking. I think that this portrays "hey, I'm fun", but avoids the drunken embarassment problem.

I would drink something that is etoh free. Forget what everyone else is doing.

CambieMD

 

[DOtobe]

I think it would be fine to drink one drink during an interview dinner. They're not going to think you're a lush just because you have one glass of wine.

Has anyone ever heard of anyone getting drunk at a pre-interview dinner? Just curious 😕

 

[hokiedoc2005]

#1 As far as the outfit goes, I wore black dress pants and a button up shirt, I think a sweater would also be fine. None of the other girls wore a skirt, but no one wore jeans either. We went to a cute restaurant for dessert and coffee (nothing fancy). For guys--I think a tie would be a little much, none of the guys had ties on, collared shirts/slacks seemed to be the rule.

#2 As far as the EtOH goes, my PD and just about everyone that I have talked to said DO NOT DRINK ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES! Actually at my dessert, it was suggested that we could feel free to order alcohol, but would have to pay for it ourselves. No one did. I think that if you really feel the need for a drink, stop by the hotel lounge on your way back to your room. AFTER the residents have left. Rule of thumb, better be safe than sorry, you never know what people will think, and you don't need to give them a reason to think something negative!

 

[irlandesa]

Well, since our pre-interview dinner at my first interview is at a tavern; I think it would be OK to have one drink unless at least a few residents are taking that option. However, if you have a bad tolerance and tend to get tipsy after 2 or fewer beers, I would not drink anything at all. Chugging your beer also is highly unadvisable.🙂 Just depends on the location and situation.

As for dress, I think I'll go with my black pants from H&M that are slightly flared at the leg (soft fabric), a knit lightweight sweater, and blazer that matches with the pants; that way if it gets warm or the blazer turns out to be too dressy, I can just take it off..

 

[Harrie]

I think that you need to assess the situation with the alcohol. Many of these programs have cocktail parties. I really think it is okay to have one drink when every resident and 80% of the applicants are also having a drink. I highly doubt that they are standing in the corner writing down who drinks and who doesn't. As long as you don't make a fool of yourself, you're okay. However, if we go to a restaurant and they tell us that we can order alcohol, I won't. Even then, I don't think it would be interview suicide, but I'm not really a drinker.
Just my 2 cents.

 

[fourthyearmed]

I think that like Harrie says, if 80% of the applicants and residents are drinking, then don't worry. It also seems like the setting will play a part. If you're having a sit-down dinner, alcohol isn't really necessary, you've got plenty else to keep you occupied. If it's a cocktail party and everyone else has a drink in hand, you'll stand out without one (of course you could get a coke). As for me, I have very low tolerance so I probably won't drink except maybe a few sips at a cocktail party. If you know you can handle one or two drinks without any effects, I wouldn't worry too much if everyone else is doing the same thing.

 

[spikyhairedgirl]

What are people's thoughts about pre-interview dinners held at a resident's house? My mom raised me to never go to someone's house empty handed. Does the same rule apply? Should we bring something? Obviously not a bottle of wine...

 

[The White Coat Investor]

As a PGYII who goes to all the night before dinners this thread cracks me up. I can't believe you guys actually worry about this stuff. This isn't the pre-med shark tank.

 

[texas_ute]

👍
Here at University of Utah, we have our Internal Medicine pre-interview dinners at a casual brew-pub type of place, so it is perfectly acceptable to try one (or more) of the beers....

 

[debvz]

As far as the outfit goes, I wore black dress pants and a button up shirt, I think a sweater would also be fine. None of the other girls wore a skirt, but no one wore jeans either. We went to a cute restaurant for dessert and coffee (nothing fancy). For guys--I think a tie would be a little much, none of the guys had ties on, collared shirts/slacks seemed to be the rule.

For the pre-interview reception I attended on Friday nite, the invitation indicated "casual dress", followed by "jeans are cool".... Not wanting to be the only one showing up in too-casual jeans, I opted for some black dress pants and a mock turtleneck..... I was the only one of 13 applicants who showed up NOT wearing jeans!

 

[The White Coat Investor]

👍
Here at University of Utah, we have our Internal Medicine pre-interview dinners at a casual brew-pub type of place, so it is perfectly acceptable to try one (or more) of the beers....

So much for those "strict" Utah alcohol laws eh? Do you have to buy the applicants a membership?

 

[texas_ute]

So much for those "strict" Utah alcohol laws eh? Do you have to buy the applicants a membership?

you do not need any type of membership at any restaurant or brew-pub in utah that also serves food; anyone can order alcoholic drinks just like anywhere else in the country. the only time you need a "membership" (which is essentially just a cover charge) is when you go to a bar/club that only serves alchohol. alcohol laws here really aren't that strict. it is amazing how many people are mis-informed about utah! (i guess i was one of them before i moved here!) 🙂

 

[The White Coat Investor]

you do not need any type of membership at any restaurant or brew-pub in utah that also serves food; anyone can order alcoholic drinks just like anywhere else in the country. the only time you need a "membership" (which is essentially just a cover charge) is when you go to a bar/club that only serves alchohol. alcohol laws here really aren't that strict. it is amazing how many people are mis-informed about utah! (i guess i was one of them before i moved here!) 🙂

I'm just giving you a hard time, I spent 8 years in the state. I was surprised to learn during residency interviews though that some of the states in the Northeast have MORE strict alcohol laws than Utah.