inappropriate and illegal questions

[Oslersghost]

I was at an interview recently and the PD was just as A$$. Interogating on my anesthesia experience and knowledge. I did not choke and knocked his wig off with my answers. Then he asked:

1. where else are you looking
2. how many programs have you applied to
3. which ones
4. what does your spouse do
5. what will he/she do if you come here? have kids?
6. when do u think we should have lectures. do u have a problem with night didactics? after all cases are done? why not?

i was like what the f-!
this mo-fo was just getting tooooo personal and it certainly was not relevant to my performance as a resident.

Am I just too sensitive or are some of these questions illegal to ask? I even felt like I was being videotaped or recorded the moment I walked in.

And of course with every answer he filled in a circle to rate the answer......

way too much heat for a program that should be interested in you.
And for god's sake serve some damn lunch at the end, don't just kick us out on the street!

this place gets a

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[militarymd]

Anesthesia is the "pretty girl" at the dance right now....and the "pretty girl" can behave in whatever manner she wants and still get what she wants.

Wait for the market to swing around again....when anesthesia is the "fat 4-eyed girl with the freckles" and you'll get your lunch before your interview.

 

[Huskergrl]

Do you mind saying where this was? I would like to be prepared!

Whether anesthesia is the "pretty girl" or not, some of these questions are illegal. UCSF didn't fill last year . . . was it because they weren't nice?

 

[VolatileAgent]

well, unfortunately applying for residency isn't like applying for any other job. fact is, a lot of these type questions get asked at a lot of places. and, this is not illegal. this should, in no small part, help you decide whether or not this is the type of program you want to go to and if/where you rank them.

 

[ChiGas]

I had an interview with a lot of those "illegal" questions...I watched the attending fill out a sheet with numbers as we talked...overall it was a bad experience for me as well...this is why we have a rank list and why we interview...it does seem as though we just have to roll with the punches....

 

[aredoubleyou]

Majority of places I interviewed asked illegal questions. Didnt bother me, really. People ask me those types of questions every day.

Nothing you mentioned seemed all that bad.

Americans are just wayyyyyy too sensitive and LOVE to be offended

 

[deleted50478]

I was at an interview recently and the PD was just as A$$. Interogating on my anesthesia experience and knowledge. I did not choke and knocked his wig off with my answers. Then he asked:

1. where else are you looking
2. how many programs have you applied to
3. which ones
4. what does your spouse do
5. what will he/she do if you come here? have kids?
6. when do u think we should have lectures. do u have a problem with night didactics? after all cases are done? why not?

i was like what the f-!
this mo-fo was just getting tooooo personal and it certainly was not relevant to my performance as a resident.

Am I just too sensitive or are some of these questions illegal to ask? I even felt like I was being videotaped or recorded the moment I walked in.

And of course with every answer he filled in a circle to rate the answer......

way too much heat for a program that should be interested in you.
And for god's sake serve some damn lunch at the end, don't just kick us out on the street!

this place gets a

Which were the offensive questions again? I don't see the problem. Also, get ready cause they ask those questions everywhere... or at least commonly.

 

[Trisomy13]

i like freckles :-(

 

[ChiGas]

i only cried for 10 mins...then i got over it...

 

[Noyac]

No Big Deal

 

[Lonestar]

militarymd is absolutely right. That pretty girl is looking good at the dance right now. On a serious note, if you go to any of these programs that only have cheerful residents showing up at lunch then there is something wrong with that program. You can bet the atmosphere at many of these programs is not as rosey as they put out. My two cents: stop bitching and put on your red lipstick because you are the ugly girl right now.

 

[SugammadexRocks]

There are questions that are apparently against match reguations, though not illegal. At my school we were told these questions are included:

1. How are you ranking us? - we can tell them of our own accord if we wish, and they can tell us how we'll be ranked.

2. Are you married? Will you have kids? Are you straight/gay? These types of questions. - but if you say something about your kids/wife/husband/significant other, be prepared to answer questions about it because you opened the door yourself.

 

[jennyboo]

1. where else are you looking
2. how many programs have you applied to
3. which ones
4. what does your spouse do
5. what will he/she do if you come here? have kids?
6. when do u think we should have lectures. do u have a problem with night didactics? after all cases are done? why not?

I got asked almost all of those questions at almost all the places I went to. The spouse/kids questions are almost always kinda borderline, but certainly I think it's fairly reasonable to ask (nicely) where else you're looking. That gives them an idea of what kind of programs you're interested in (big? small? academic? elite? local?) and what your priorities are. If the rest of your programs are major big research programs, they'll want to understand why you are so interested in this little program in the middle of nowhere -- or vice versa.

If interviewing at a small community program, tell them you're interviewing at several other small community programs within their league. If interviewing at an elite program, name the other elite programs you'll be visiting. Let them know what "crowd" you want to be in, and let them decide whether your crowd is "their" crowd.

If you interview at many more programs, learn to expect some of these questions and to answer them matter-of-factly. Say, "My wife/husband is working as a ______, and this makes [program's location] a very good fit for me." I was never asked whether I planned to have children -- I would answer that one as you see appropriate, although my answer during an interview would be "Not during residency" (and again, that depends on where you're interviewing -- some programs are very family focused, others are not).

 

[VolatileAgent]

Are you straight/gay?

dude, no one asks that. come on.

 

[SugammadexRocks]

dude, no one asks that. come on.

It was alluded to in a few of my interviews. Granted, I had something in my CV about medical school curricular development related to gay/lesbian health issues, so I was prepared to answer questions about it. So dude, it can and may be asked.

 

[VolatileAgent]

It was alluded to in a few of my interviews. Granted, I had something in my CV about medical school curricular development related to gay/lesbian health issues, so I was prepared to answer questions about it. So dude, it can and may be asked.

it's not asked. it's not even "can" or "may be" asked. no one interviewing you is that socially inept. now, as far as alluded to (whatever that means), you put it in your CV. so, you made your bed, so to speak... otherwise, the average gay/lesbian dude/dudette isn't going to be "outed" in the interview session.

 

[chips]

St. Luke's asked me point blank how many schools i planned on visiting and where i was ranking their program. considering they were only the 2nd program i'd ever visited i was like...lalala-i-can't-hear-you-lalala...