Important things to find out during your residency interviews

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If the PD starts talking about call, by all means ask for details, but it still looks bad if you are the one to bring it up.


If the information is not on the website nor talked about during the program overview, then it is a fair question to be asked for clarification.
 
If the information is not on the website nor talked about during the program overview, then it is a fair question to be asked for clarification.

I'm not saying don't ask, just saying choose who you ask a bit wisely.

Call questions are for current residents.

Faculty will be generally clueless (and might think you're lazy) and the PD should know details but could easily assume you're lazy and not a team player (only criteria that matters for a prelim year pretty much).

This is really just common sense.
 
Honestly don't know what you're talking about, and I interviewed at TYs outside of NYC.

It is never a good idea to come across as a lazy dick in an interview, I figured this was just common sense.

If the PD starts talking about call, by all means ask for details, but it still looks bad if you are the one to bring it up.

Obviously you shouldn't say "I want to work as little as possible, is this the place for me?"

You can frame it like, "I heard taking care of patients independently is the best way to learn, how do interns take call here and how independent can they be?" Or "what opportunities do we have to explore other specialties during electives?"
 
You may have been through the process, which gives you a unique perspective, but it's still an intern spot. We've all matched. I've worked with and evaluated TYs as their senior resident. I know their program director and I know my program director. We had a TY last year who tried to get away with doing less than the bare minimum. My PD, his PD and he all had a "Come to Jesus" talk that straightened him out. I'm pretty sure that if the PD knew he was a lazy sh-t at the outset, he would not have ranked him.

Therefore, choose your questions wisely at an interview.

That sounds hard to do given the TY you're talking about is probably the easiest in the country or close to it. I interviewed there and all the PD talked about on the interview day was how they had an open elective and how much free time you got. When I asked about doing surgery electives they looked at me like I was crazy. They ended up being pretty low on my list.
 
And obviously if the PD starts talking about something, that makes it fair game.
 
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