Interview trail stories

[PhantomShadow]

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As we all sit in nervous anicipation awaiting the results of the NRMP's supercomputer's number crunching, I thouht it would be fun to see if anyone has any fun/interesting/surprising interview trail storis to tell.

I'll start: I was driving to interview at OSU and was frustrated that traffic was backing up so much (and that a sniper might have me in his sights) and was just about to exit to go across the river to the Marriott, when BOOM!!....a vehicle about 1000 feet ahead of me beyond the exit EXPLODED! It was unbelievable. I later found out on the news that the accident involved a fuel truck and a multiple-vehicle collison with muliple fatalities, shutting down the interstate for >12 hours. The site of fire shooting into the sky and the thoughts of passengers in the vehicle was quite depresing. I dialed 911 on my mobile to report what I had just seen as I turned off the exit and they said that they were aware and sending an emergency response team. That's when you get to the hotel and call your wife and child to let them know you love them.

Good luck everyone!

 

[*Wing of Zock*]

tyr this for classic mental midgetry on my part.

I scheduled a few of my interviews right in a row, and I was travelling to my last interview I had the incredible intellect to leave my interview suit hanging in my last hotel 800 miles away. I didn't realize this fact until I pulled into my next destination, and after swearing like a drunk getting a Foley cath placed, did what any poor medical student would do. I went to Brooks Brothers, put a great $1000.00 suit, shoes, shirt and tie on my credit card, and as soon as the interviw ended I returned it all, with the excuse that "my wife didn't like it".

This place ended up being ranked in my top five, so hopefully nobody noticed all the price tags hanging off my new classy suit.

They wouldn't hold that against me, right?

 

[ex-oh-medic]

You might remember hearing about that big blizzard in the northeast back in December? Well being intellectually gifted myself, I decided that there wasn't any good reason that I couldn't drive from NY to Maine during said blizzard. Needless to say, I lost it on the Mass Turnpike and drove my rental car off the road and jumped a small creek before coming to rest. Hertz was not pleased. And I never made it to Maine Medical Center...

 

[DrQuinn]

I interviewed last year at a place that put you up in the hotel room. Well, I "accidentally" (I really did accidentally do it) ordered an adult film on the TV. Usually I like to see which movies they have going, and sometimes they'll show some skin on the picture preview of the movie. Well, I thought it would show a picture preview but instead the enter button purchased a movie.

Yeah, that was an interesting morning the next day when I had to check out of the hotel.

(This post is extremely censored and de-X-rated).

Q, DO

 

[edmadison]

Originally posted by QuinnNSU
I interviewed last year at a place that put you up in the hotel room. Well, I "accidentally" (I really did accidentally do it) ordered an adult film on the TV. Usually I like to see which movies they have going, and sometimes they'll show some skin on the picture preview of the movie. Well, I thought it would show a picture preview but instead the enter button purchased a movie.

Yeah, that was an interesting morning the next day when I had to check out of the hotel.

(This post is extremely censored and de-X-rated).

Q, DO

Just for "future reference", if you go to the front desk immediately and explain what happened, they can take it off the bill.

Ed

 

[ERMudPhud]

Originally posted by edmadison
Just for "future reference", if you go to the front desk immediately and explain what happened, they can take it off the bill.

Ed

But, if you decide, "oh well, too late" and then sit and watch the whole thing alone in your hotel its a little difficult to ask for you money back a few hours later.

 

[DrQuinn]

Originally posted by ERMudPhud
But, if you decide, "oh well, too late" and then sit and watch the whole thing alone in your hotel its a little difficult to ask for you money back a few hours later.

THis was the approach I used... 🙂

Actually the next morning, I went up to the front desk, sheepishly showed them my credit card, and said "this is for all the icnidental charges." The girl typed on her keyboard for what seemed like ten minutes hten said "there are no incidental charges, its all paid for by the hospital." I said, uhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, then sat back down. Sweated profusely for another ten minutes, went back up and said "Listen, I KNOW I rented a movie last night, can I pay for it?" She then typed on her keyboard for an endless period of time then said "we don't have any record of you watching a movie."

CHA-CHING!

Q, DO

 

[A little elf]

When I was interviewing at Jax a few yrs ago, I sat down for an interview. Things were going relatively well and the conversation gradually slid to research. The interviewer asked me what I thought of research. Now, knowing that Jax is a county program, pretty intense, etc, I thought that I'd actually tell them the truth instead of the usual polite bs. I said that to be honest, I'd do my scholarly project, but that I really wasn't big into research and would rather focus on being a great clinical physician. At that point, the interviewer re-introduced himself, this time along with his title...research director. Needless to say, I matched many miles away from sunny Jax

 

[edinOH]

One program I interviewed at last year, they put me up in the nice, University owned hotel and actually gave me a card to put my dinner etc on at one of the restraunts in the hotel.

So I end up in this pretty nice and not exactly inexpensive Italian restraunt. It is late in the season, so I'm now a seasoned interviewee, and I also realize I probably won't be ranking this place too high, basically took the interview on a whim early in the process.

Any way, back to the restraunt. A merlot catches my eye on the wine list which is eight bucks a glass. I think to myself that I'll only have one, and order. Then the waiter tells me about the specials, including this excellent sounding focacia bread as an appetizer. I tell the waiter to please bring one.

He returns with the wine and the appetizer. Umm good, both wine and bread. So I think to myself, perhaps I should just get a bottle. So I did. sixty bucks.

Next it's time to order dinner. Well, I'm in the mood for some pasta and italian sausage, but I'm a big fan of chicken parmesan. I go with the parmesan. Waiter asks if I want salad. Of course, bring a ceaser.

Long story short. Great dinner, great wine, great cheese cake for dessert. Great bill. $120 to be exact (the salad was 10). At this point I'm thinking I may have over-spent. I go ahead on charge it to the room however.

Now I'm left with a dilema. It is just before eight o'clock. Now what am I gonna do? Well go to the bar of course!

Eight crown and cokes, 2 cigars and some interesting conversation later, I decide I probably should be sleeping since my interview is in less than 4 hours. Of course I put it on the room. $100 bucks. The cigars weren't cheap.

Made to the interview fine. Hung over but interviewed well. I decided to go ahead and just order the salad at lunch.

This was about 2 weeks before ROL day. If they got that bill before ROL, I'm sure I wasn't on it.

In retrospect I realized I took advantage, but it sure was fun at the time! (I'm sure some self righteous SOB on here will now come chastize me).

 

[FoughtFyr]

Originally posted by edinOH
In retrospect I realized I took advantage, but it sure was fun at the time! (I'm sure some self righteous SOB on here will now come chastize me).

Heck no. I just wish I interviewed at a program that gave you a card for dinner!

- H

 

[DrQuinn]

Yeah edin, you never told us LAST year when WE were interviewing of this "Holy Grail" of freebies program. I see how you are.

Well, if I see you at an ACEP meeitng, you can forget the complimentary USF - EM Program pen we're giving out!

Q, DO

 

[HamSandwich]

not EM but I went to a different specialty's interview at a place that I thought I was going to rank numero uno all along. it was one of my last interviews and it sucked from the get go!

the woman that took us to dinner was the worst. first she was 25 minutes late, then took us to dinner at the hotel restaurant...now arent you wanting to show off your town a bit? then she proceeded to tell us what a nervous person she was and had an anxiety disorder and hated when her beeper went off and that much of the time she couldnt take the pressure. also that she had no confidence in herself and wondered if it was because she went to a caribbean med school and felt defensive about it. she also said she wanted to take over her dads practice and he basically told her he wasnt going to turn it over to a ***** and she better smarten up. i mean really can you believe this? she went on and on and on. the whole dinner was like that.

as a side note, the applicant across from me didnt pick his head up from his food, shoveled it in and then blew his nose into a paper napkin. Then, when that was full, busted out a hanky from his pocket. (no he was not 85 yo). and i am thinking, dude, there are plenty of extra napkins at the table, just use those! so i have anxiety girl, hanky boy and the end of dinner comes and the waitress asks do you want coffee and all the applicants say NO! but the residents said oh yes. she had excellent social graces. so i said, i have a date with the hot tub and left.

now i understand people have problems but man, you need to put on your best game face on interview day. so i meet the residents the next day, they all seem miserable. when it came time to chat with the PD and he said "so how is it going?", I told him the truth. i said look man, you are trying to sell something here and you send THAT woman out to dinner? and he said uh yeah maybe that wasnt such a good idea. no **** guy.

just goes to show how awesome a place can look on paper only to suck diddly uck in person.

 

[Pegasus]

This is everyone's nightmare...

you NEVER want to Not Show Up!

I was scheduled for Tuesday, I thought it was Thursday.

I showed up..perky on Thursday, and loved the program already...they had canceled all the interviews that day, and either I wrote it down wrong, or didnt get the email, but i was the only one there!

It was horrific! I was so embarrased, but they interviewed me anyway....and get this, they even emailed me and said they liked me, but I cant get over the fact that I missed my interview day and showed up on a non-interview day!

 

[FoughtFyr]

Originally posted by Pegasus
This is everyone's nightmare...

Nope, I've got that nightmare beat. On my way into a "strange" town about four hours by car from home for an interview, I get a call on my cell phone. My dad had suffered an MI - in Playa del Carmen, Mexico. He suddenly became pale, diaphoretic, and passed out in his lunch. The local "doctor", after collecting payment in advance, gave him streptokinase and told my mother he would need to stay at his (the doctor's) clinic for seven days before travel would be "safe".

So here I am, trying to find a recieving hospital, a med-evac air ambulance, and facilitate the transfer in Mexico, all from a hotel room in what seemed like the middle of nowhere. I got the call about 5:30 p.m. so needless to say, I missed the "welcome to town" dinner with the residents. The med-evac flight was arranged (finally) around 10 p.m. local time, and through constant phone updates (all night), I tracked my dad's progress to St. Luke MC in Houston, where he underwent PCA with stenting at about 6 a.m. local time. So here I go, two hours later, bleary eyed, on no sleep, still pretty concerned, to my interview, because I had no days left to reschedule.

On a lighter note, all's well that ends well. There were a couple of folks at the interview who I knew from the trail. They were really supportive (Thanks!). The interview actually went o.k., I got a call from the PD right before ROLs were due. My dad had a complete blockage of RCA with inferior wall akinesis, but he is recovering well, and is one of the most compliant patients on record.

Anyway, I'd rather have shown up on the wrong day...

- H