Extracurriculars on interviews

[CleverAdvisor]

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Hey guys, hope this is the appropriate place to be posting this thread.
I'm an M3 (IMG) and recently figured out anesthesia is where I want to match in 2022.

Based on videos and articles I've read it seems like most medical students have a passion that they have extensive knowledge about and always seems to be a topic of conversation at their interviews. This worries me because while I have a lot of interests, they tend to be quite superficial. In my spare time I enjoy training boxing, kayaking, chess, and collecting fragrances (among other things). However, if these topics came up in conversation I don't think I would be able to elaborate very well. I think it's because I have ADHD and get distracted quite easily. I'm hoping to get some suggestions on how to best represent myself in a way to show that I wasn't completely unproductive during medical school.
Thanks!

 

[Neopolymath]

Hey guys, hope this is the appropriate place to be posting this thread.
I'm an M3 (IMG) and recently figured out anesthesia is where I want to match in 2022.

Based on videos and articles I've read it seems like most medical students have a passion that they have extensive knowledge about and always seems to be a topic of conversation at their interviews. This worries me because while I have a lot of interests, they tend to be quite superficial. In my spare time I enjoy training boxing, kayaking, chess, and collecting fragrances (among other things). However, if these topics came up in conversation I don't think I would be able to elaborate very well. I think it's because I have ADHD and get distracted quite easily. I'm hoping to get some suggestions on how to best represent myself in a way to show that I wasn't completely unproductive during medical school.
Thanks!

You are fine. They don't really care that much even though it comes up in most interviews. They want to see passion for something and a life outside of medicine. If you can say a couple sentences about something then you are golden. They aren't asking you to defend your hobby or explain esoteric details of such. Good luck.

 

[Redpancreas]

These are just solicited so that they can bring them up to make you relaxed or when you're in the holding area and there's time to make small talk. They're not using how eloquently you speak about your hobbies or what your hobbies are to judge your candidacy. I remember putting the least impressive things down and my interviewer asking about it and having a good conversation. Turned out we had something embarrassing in common that we both could laugh about. There's not much you can do wrong here except if you mention things you're not really passionate about and then you'll just come off as disingenuous to the interviewer. Write whatever you enjoy talking about so when asked about it, you can speak freely.

Now as for your ERAS experiences (research, ECs, volunteering, etc.) that's a bit different.

 

[Redpancreas]

I never get asked about my experiences but have been asked about my hobbies a lot of the time sadly (which I don’t have a ton of time to do). Definitely felt like some interviewers had expectations of “excelling” in them (ooh chess, were you really good? Did you compete in tournaments? Traveling? Have you been to Patagonia, backpack Europe? Guitar, were you part of a band?) etc. They might have been just making small talk, but there was sometimes discernible disappointment when I said no, I just do this to relax lol

IMHO that bolded mentality is toxic in so many ways. Medical students spent the last 4-8 years getting to this spot and sacrificed time they put to their hobbies. By asking this sort of a leading question you're basically encouraging the vast majority of applicants to embellish themselves. Why do programs even care? Are they going to list the competitive chess players or musicians alongside who got AOA, GHHS, etc. so they can humble brag about it on their residency page and pretend like their program recruits for diversity/wellness before they proceed to stamp it out? I'm sorry that you've run into some tactless interviewers @ace_inhibitor111. Your hobbies should be for your own solace and no one should be trying to quantify/judge them.

 

[Lawpy]

I never get asked about my experiences but have been asked about my hobbies a lot of the time sadly (which I don’t have a ton of time to do). Definitely felt like some interviewers had expectations of “excelling” in them (ooh chess, were you really good? Did you compete in tournaments? Traveling? Have you been to Patagonia, backpack Europe? Guitar, were you part of a band?) etc. They might have been just making small talk, but there was sometimes discernible disappointment when I said no, I just do this to relax lol

I despise when there's an expectation from interviewers to excel in hobbies. Like dude what's wrong with just relaxing? If i like to travel, why am i forced to travel across the entire planet? It's one of the dumbest and most annoying things in the admissions world

Lol, that literally defeats the point of a hobby and seems you've run into some tactless interviewers.

Over in preallo land, adcoms are heavily salivating over people who go far enough into their hobbies that it seems to be a huge benefit (see gold winning Olympians, infinite ultramarathon runners, traveling across the planet, being one of the most famous guitarists in the world that shapes the music industry, being the next Mozart, being the next Picasso, inventing a revolutionary architectural style etc etc)

 

[Oso]

You’ll be totally fine... just be able to answer the question “what do you like to do for fun/outside of work?” like a normal human being.
Just be normal and DON’T lie (ie. don’t say you run marathons when you don’t because then you’ll inevitably interview with someone who does run marathons and then they’ll wanna talk about it and things will be weird ).

How most of my residency and fellowship interviews went:
Person - what do you enjoy to do?
Me - pet dogs
Person - sweet
Me - yeah

 

[DrRedstone]

Please follow my 9 step extracurricular plan:

1. Learn to play penny whistle like a boss.
2. Have said penny whistle with you when you interview.
3. Have department chair ask about your hobbies.
4. Talk about your passion for Celtic music.
5. Pull out conveniently placed whistle.
6. Have chair ask you to play.
7. Enter boss mode.
8. Be asked if you are a professional, "because, Wow!"
9. Profit?

(Not based on real life events.)

 

[CleverAdvisor]

Thanks for all the replies. Seems like some PDs do get a hard on for people excelling in their hobbies; but I should be okay even without my nobel peace prize in literature or beating Magnus Carlsen in the world chess championships.

 

[aldol16]

For some small specialties where resident classes are more like families, hobbies does become important when you're trying to build a class and most applicants look the same on paper. Story becomes important and it becomes about selling yourself. It sucks but it's true.