illegal questions during interview?

[chic]

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I had an interview some days ago, and i was very surprised to be asked what my religion was and if i have plans to have a baby during residency? 😕
Just curious ...Is this normal? i had other interviews and they never asked such things before

 

[mig26x]

I had an interview some days ago, and i was very surprised to be asked what my religion was and if i have plans to have a baby during residency? 😕
Just curious ...Is this normal? i had other interviews and they never asked such things before

I find this questions normal ones, both of them affect the program in one way or another. If the candidate is adventist, theres a good chance he wont work on saturdays depending on his belief, or if the candidate is pregnant or is gonna be pregnant those are some months that the candidate wont be able to do the work as usual and then maternity leave etc etc etc. A program wouldnt like to have that many women that would become pregnant during there residency time!!

 

[ShizzleDaZam]

I find this questions normal ones, both of them affect the program in one way or another. If the candidate is adventist, theres a good chance he wont work on saturdays depending on his belief, or if the candidate is pregnant or is gonna be pregnant those are some months that the candidate wont be able to do the work as usual and then maternity leave etc etc etc. A program wouldnt like to have that many women that would become pregnant during there residency time!!

I was asked bold face by one program director if I was jewish or not. Granted the program, had a lot of orthodox jews, but to point blank ask someone.....I got the feeling that I won't be ranked just because of that line of questioning..

I think this type of questioning is immoral, unethical, and illegal...I'm wondering, if you can report such program directors?

 

[inositide]

I think that asking about religion is reasonable only if it directly involves application to a certain program. For example, I think the Albert Einstein-Beth Israel Medical Center medicine residency in new york offers a "sabbath friendly" residency to accomodate the religious beliefs of certain residents. If one applies for this type of program, it is reasonabe that the PD wants to confirm that you actually prescribe to that belief system. No one wants to be taken for a ride.

However, I think that it is not proper to be asked about future pregnancy plans during an interview.

 

[Tar Heel Born]

Asking about your future family plans is ILLEGAL, period.

 

[crazylegs]

I just finished an IM interview today and was blindsided with "so, are you married? do you have a significant other?" and "so, where else are you interviewing?" by an assistant program director. Those questions definitely didn't show up on the aamc's list of common interview questions 😛 I wasn't quite prepared to answer those particular questions he asked and was as candid as I could be. The question about the other places that I am interviewing at seems more like a none-of-your-business situation than anything.. but it is illegal?

Also, is this happening to anyone else this interview season?

 

[Dreemer005]

When I was interviewing last year for fellowship, many programs actually asked me "Where else did you apply?" and "What programs are you interviewing at?"

The one that surprised me the most, since I thought it was kind of awkward, was "Why are you looking here? How come you don't want to stay at your current institution instead?"

I was also asked a lot about my family and significant other. I got the impression that they wanted to see how likely I would move to another city or state and if my significant other was willing to move, or if I would prioritize living near my family instead.

 

[Bobblehead]

When I was interviewing last year for fellowship, many programs actually asked me "Where else did you apply?" and "What programs are you interviewing at?"

The one that surprised me the most, since I thought it was kind of awkward, was "Why are you looking here? How come you don't want to stay at your current institution instead?"

I was also asked a lot about my family and significant other. I got the impression that they wanted to see how likely I would move to another city or state and if my significant other was willing to move, or if I would prioritize living near my family instead.

One thing to keep in mind is that fellowship is slightly different than residency interviews. They're essentially interviewing a future potential faculty member in addition to interviewing you as a fellow.

I agree that they were likely trying to gauge your interest in their program, potentially in terms of where to rank you on their match list (or for non-match specialties where to put you on their to-call list).