How to answer the question...why IM

[tool]

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any suggestions? I mean honestly those type of questions are silly. Just wondering what things does the PD want to hear you say? Any thoughts greatly appreciated.....

 

[atsai3]

any suggestions? I mean honestly those type of questions are silly. Just wondering what things does the PD want to hear you say? Any thoughts greatly appreciated.....

I don't know if I would say that the question "why IM?" is a silly one. It is an important one, because it informs your overall approach to medicine and therefore your overall approach to a patient.

Secondly, I also don't know if saying "what the PD wants to hear you say" is a particularly winning strategy either. Just tell the PD what you think. If a particular PD is going to reject you because s/he didn't like your answer or because s/he doesn't agree with your reasoning, then maybe that particular program wouldn't have been that great a match for you anyway and you would be better served by looking at other programs.

Cheers
-AT.

 

[TommyGunn04]

I have to agree with Atsai. This is a VERY important question both for the program director and for you personally. If you haven't thought long and hard about why you're pursuing training in IM then you owe it to yourself to do so before you apply and match!

Also, think about it from a program director's perspective. Why would you want to hire someone who isn't really sure they want to do the job? As much as applicants get annoyed by the "tell me about yourself" interview questions, they're really great ways to gain valuable insights about an individual. And as Atasi said, this shouldn't be about what you think they want to hear. Rather, it should be about what YOU think and feel, in your gut, in your heart, about why IM is right for you. Programs are trying to see if you're a good fit with their departmental culture, and if you misrepresent yourself you're doing both yourself and that program a potentially disastrous disservice. I don't think it's a good idea to be anyone but yourself in this process, lest you end up somewhere that really isn't right for you.

 

[tool]

Of course I have reason why I'm choosing IM and will obviously explain my decision. That being said I am of the opinion that most people can see themselves having a career in several diff areas but end up picking one because you have no choice. Example, I narrowed my list down to Family and IM....decided with IM because I would like to do a fellowship....but acting like I would be miserable if I had chosen FP is insane.

 

[Zolpidem25]

Of course I have reason why I'm choosing IM and will obviously explain my decision. That being said I am of the opinion that most people can see themselves having a career in several diff areas but end up picking one because you have no choice. Example, I narrowed my list down to Family and IM....decided with IM because I would like to do a fellowship....but acting like I would be miserable if I had chosen FP is insane.

i think you just answered your own question! you could explain to a program director your thought process, how you narrowed it down to IM and FP, and in the end, what the deciding/clinching criteria were.

i think the most important part of answering the question "why IM" is to show that you really did think things through. for a long time i thought i was choosing IM as a default option, a fall-back per say; but i gradually realized that i'm choosing it because its the one field that i truly see myself happy in for a lifetime....

 

[gallant2m]

i notice that not one person wrote why they wanted to go into IM rather are giving lectures out about why you should already know why you're going into IM. is it possible that you guys don't have reasons to go into IM????? hmmmm???

 

[gwen]

dude, i had this whole answer typed and when i hit submit, my computer crashed! aaaah! anyway, i was trying to help answer your "why IM" question.

i guess i'm just going to put interview info on a separate thread (from old e-mails that i've saved over the years) and you can pick what's specific to you. it has a bunch of IM interview questions and some of my own answers. i sort of made a list when i was interviewing. i also kept a little notecard in my portfolio case so i could peek at it during a break between interviews. i get nervous and potentially forgetful so it helped having something to look at to remind me of some answers. some may find it ridiculous, but it helped me.

 

[atsai3]

i notice that not one person wrote why they wanted to go into IM rather are giving lectures out about why you should already know why you're going into IM. is it possible that you guys don't have reasons to go into IM????? hmmmm???

As for me, you're right. I'm going into psych.

-AT.

 

[TommyGunn04]

i notice that not one person wrote why they wanted to go into IM rather are giving lectures out about why you should already know why you're going into IM. is it possible that you guys don't have reasons to go into IM????? hmmmm???

hmmmm...fishing for personal statement ideas? 😉

Seriously though, I don't see how it would be helpful to post our individual reasons here. Again, this is a highly personal choice, a highly personal question, and should thus have a unique and personal answer. To ask people for their reasons seems akin to asking what program directors "want to hear," or like trying to get an idea as to what a "good answer" might be. Trying to be like "everyone else" isn't a promising approach in my opinion; this should be a very personal answer. That said, as Zolpidem said, I think it's important to demonstrate that you've put a great deal of thought into your reasoning, whatever it may be.

 

[gallant2m]

sorry fellas, goin into neuro. i happened to fall into ur board. hehe

 

[Mumpu]

Did you address "why IM" at all in your personal statement? I can give a succinct explanation now that I worked through it in my PS.