Just trying to figure out the best way to schedule interviews without getting burned out. For example, how many can you go to in one week without burnout, and would 2 in 2 days be too much. Also, after how many interviews did people get burned out from total? I'm applying to prelim/transitional programs, and just thinking about tacking those interviews on as well is a real pain in the ass.
Well, let's see. I did four interviews in a row; that was tough. I flew out to Chicago on a Wednesday for a UIC interview on Thursday. Then hopped over to Univ Chicago for a Friday interview. Flew back to Virginia Friday night. Drove to UVA around 4 AM Saturday morning for a UVA interview. Then drove up to Philadelphia that night for a Sunday interview at Penn. That was tough, but it didn't really affect my interviewing skills. I made sure I rested whenever possible and drank lots of coffee.
Totally depends on the person. When I went through the process, I scheduled a series of 3 interviews in one week: flew from east coast to Seattle on Sunday night, interviews on Monday & Tuesday, flew to San Francisco Tuesday night, interview on Wednesday, drove to Palo Alto on Wednesday night, interview Thursday, redeye back to the east coast on Thursday night. After that week, I was pretty burned out. First thing I did the next day was cancel about 10 interviews. -AT.
I actually would try not to schedule them on 2 days back to back unless they are in the same city. If both in Chicago, etc. then 2 in a row is OK. I wouldn't do them more than 2 days straight in a row (well except maybe for prelim spots...those interviews shouldn't be THAT hard). I preferred no more than 2/week, but sometimes that's not possible, esp. if you need a prelim year also. I would try to avoid more than 3/week. If you are interviewing for prelim years also, would try to group interviews by city and/or geographic area. I'm sure it's tough going to that many interviews...
I have scheduled mine pretty much two a week, but the second week I had three and it was brutal. I mean, I felt like I had been run over by a truck and my stress was through the roof. I actually lost my little digital camera somewhere, and started to feel mentally exhausted which was scary. This is a draining and stressful process. So I definitely schedule in as much rest time as I can in between.
Are you photographing the various hospitals? If so, interesting way to remember the programs. Do other people do this? I'm assuming you go back on your own at the end of the day, rather than snapping shots like a tourist during the tour. It would look bad otherwise.
I did this...ie, took pictures of the hospital (generally either once I arrive in my car or when I left, depending on the time of the day) for both residency and fellowship, to help me remember things when it came time to think about ranking.
Uh, no. I am not snapping pictures while I am touring the hospital with the resident. I am traveling to some cool parts of the country and don't know when I will ever get back there so I am (was) getting shots of the landscape. The world is full of lots of other cools things than just medicine.
Ok, I will readily admit to being organized to the point of bordering on the anal-retentive and obsessive. I took copious notes at the end of every interview day I ever attended, made files (dossiers???) on each school, and read about each of them to the point where I sometimes knew more about the curriculums than the interviewers did. But even *I* think that taking photos of the facilities goes a bit too far. Maybe I'm just not grasping the utility of it though, so will WS or someone else who does this please fill me in? How does having pictures of the hospitals help you remember things, as opposed to taking thorough notes of the pros and cons? I'm just thinking about how this could open up a whole new world of obsessiveness for me....if I can figure out how to work the digital camera, that is.
Q - its not OPPOSED to taking detailed notes, its in addition. Its like seeing a picture of a resident when you go back to ranking them; seeing a picture sometimes brings up other thoughts and or feelings about the experience. Most of my pictures were actually of the town around the hospital rather than the hospital itself; I didn't take as copious notes about the area, so the pictures helped to remind me. Plus, as the OP notes, sometimes I just took pictures of landscape or cool things I saw. I dunno, maybe I am just OCD.
I never thought of taking pics of any hospital where I interviewed. Agree w/peerie on this one...take pics of the cool scenery, not the hospital...LOL! However, I wonder if WS likes to take pics b/c she is more visually and spatially oriented (would be common in surgical types). We IM types are probably more the obsessive note-takers!
I am OCD but you are right, my notes are likely shorter than you IM types! I also took lots of pictures of the scenery, the towns, etc. to help me remember the area (perhaps more so than the hospital).
