Interviews 2006

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.
Aubrey said:
I wonder which of us will be the last to finish??

Probably me...Jan 24th. :)

Members don't see this ad.
 
Aubrey said:
Congrats DrPlum on slaying the hideous Step 2 beast! I too have an interview next week (JHU) and that is it for me.. I wonder which of us will be the last to finish??

I have 4 left. I am definitely going to the one tomorrow, and then may cancel all the ones that are left.

The ones I may cancel are all good places but I have done 8 and am feeling like I have done enough!
 
That happened to me. When I finished my last interview in December I still had 4-5 scheduled, and had had enough. I had one more program I really wanted to see and visit, but the others I felt I wasn't going to see anything that would bump them that high up on my rank list.
 
Members don't see this ad :)
Hello, I was wondering if anyone knew anything about UMass and Danbury CT, do any of you know anything about these two places? How is their training? Is it worth going to? I still feel like I haven't found my perfect place, but i want to know about these two before deciding interview or not.

thanks!
 
hzma said:
..about UMass and Danbury CT..
UMass would be solid Yaah turf.

i interviewed at Danbury myself, and came away with mixed feelings. its a small program, with a strong emphasis on "personal attention". they have a formal partnership with Yale, so the residents go there for outside rotations. i liked the part that they offer a taste of how things are in a big place(yale?) without the cut-throat academic BS. personally, i want to go to a large community-based place rather than some research heavy acad program, so this looked ok. all the attendings seemed nice. they have a number of FMGs, and "support" H1 visas, ie if you can pay for your own damn lawyer and fee, they won't say no. they give every resident a computer each in the residents' room, if that is a factor for you. also, the certificate you get at the end of residency says "Yale", if that is an attraction for you(and the residents did emphasise this time and again- a major pi$$ off point, if you ask me.)

on the other hand, they came off as really defensive about their size. the place is small, and different prof admitted their derm/neuro/paeds is not very good. their AP chief is also retiring, so i dunno who is coming in. also, their grossing stations and morgue were quite, um, primitive. i dunno about the work they do, but it looked quite cramped. i haven't seen the town, but they said it was "only" a 50 min drive to NYC. if you can make time for that drive at all is the question. they work on saturdays as well(only a 2 hour lecture, but it is not a holiday :mad: )..and none of the residents came up with anything they thought was not good about the program/they would like to change. this lack of objectivity raised a major red flag for phobophile ol' me. i find it hard to believe everything is good.

right through the interview, i felt like i was being sold a program (almost like being set up for a con). i didn't feel they had the "we-are-good, so-you-should-want-to-come-here" confidence. any program that p*mps its association with another "prestigious" place is not attractive in my opinion. i reflects on them not feeling anyone would want to get there had it not been for the "big name" behind them.

that is off the top of my head. theirs was among the first few interviews i attended, and i was willing to take up anything i get. now, i am more critical(but not harsh). if you aren't doing anything, why not interview (especially if its a drive form where you are, i say go). maybe the things that turned me off might be kind of what you are looking for.

Hope this helps..
Good Luck!! :luck:
 
I interviewed today at University of Nebraska. I will write a review later on the interview experiences thread, but just wanted to throw out there that I was extremely impressed with it. I loved the atmosphere - the residents and attendings are awesome.

I haven't seen much about Nebraska on SDN so just thought I would throw that out there for anybody considering it in the future.
 
yaah said:

Sorry, quick question... are programs starting to get a bit more lax about interviewing?? I have an interview Mon at UVA and Tues at UofMich and have heard nothing from either :( (I just got home and kind of expected something either in e or snail mail). I fly out at 8:00am tomorrow for Charlottesville... at least I can call UofM on Monday, but goodness... this is really frustrating. (at least these are my last 2...)
 
Supersheep said:
Sorry, quick question... are programs starting to get a bit more lax about interviewing?? I have an interview Mon at UVA and Tues at UofMich and have heard nothing from either :( (I just got home and kind of expected something either in e or snail mail). I fly out at 8:00am tomorrow for Charlottesville... at least I can call UofM on Monday, but goodness... this is really frustrating. (at least these are my last 2...)
At this point in time, I don't expect programs to become more lax about interviews. In late January, that might no longer be the case.

Hopefully UVA and UMich will at least tell you where and when to report on the days of your interviews. Failure to do so is pretty poor form. Itineraries can be tough to put together and may not be finalized until the day before the interview!
 
AngryTesticle said:
Hopefully UVA and UMich will at least tell you where and when to report on the days of your interviews. Failure to do so is pretty poor form. Itineraries can be tough to put together and may not be finalized until the day before the interview!

I had to call the program secretary at UMich while on the road the day before from my cell phone to find out where and when I was supposed to report. I had never received an email or anything. I think I heard from UVA a few days before.
 
AngryTesticle said:
At this point in time, I don't expect programs to become more lax about interviews. In late January, that might no longer be the case.

Hopefully UVA and UMich will at least tell you where and when to report on the days of your interviews. Failure to do so is pretty poor form. Itineraries can be tough to put together and may not be finalized until the day before the interview!
Thanks AT and I hope that all is well there! Indeed, I just want to know where and when to show up... that would be helpful! I'd look kind of silly wandering around the UofM campus Tuesday asking people ;) I'll keep calling...
 
beary said:
I had to call the program secretary at UMich while on the road the day before from my cell phone to find out where and when I was supposed to report. I had never received an email or anything. I think I heard from UVA a few days before.
Thank you beary- I'll do that. Glad to hear that you're done with interviews... best of luck with making decisions here! :)
 
beary said:
I had to call the program secretary at UMich while on the road the day before from my cell phone to find out where and when I was supposed to report. I had never received an email or anything. I think I heard from UVA a few days before.

SuperSheep said:
Thanks AT and I hope that all is well there! Indeed, I just want to know where and when to show up... that would be helpful! I'd look kind of silly wandering around the UofM campus Tuesday asking people I'll keep calling...
That's weird...maybe the program administrator at Michigan is new and/or not very diligent about this. I don't remember having these issues with UMich last year. Oh well. You probably had to go to Fantone's office first thing in the morning. His office is pretty easy to find.

I'm doing well. Thanks. The last several weeks have been pretty good (dermpath rocks...cool cases and the workflow is infinitely more efficient). Hope you had a good holiday season. Best of luck on your remaining interviews. You must be exhausted...
 
Members don't see this ad :)
Supersheep said:
Thank you beary- I'll do that. Glad to hear that you're done with interviews... best of luck with making decisions here! :)

Thanks Supersheep! Good luck with the rest of your interviews! :thumbup:

I will send you a PM with the details of where and when for UMich and UVA. I would imagine it's the same for everybody.
 
So I've got some time here on the interview trail and I've been collecting my thoughts. I'd like to see what some of you think.

1. I really appreciate it when interviews start at 9am instead of 8am. When you're trying to check out of a hotel, find a building you've never seen before and navigate a city you've never been in before, it is really nice to have that extra hour.

2. All clinical labs look the same. Maybe its just me and the places I've been but the lab part of the tour is not really helpful. I'd rather spend that time at a teaching conference, talking with some residents, or just end the day earlier. What I am mainly interested in is resident work spaces, autopsy suites, gross/frozen room, cafeteria/places to eat around the hospital, etc.

3. This is only my opinion, but lunches with residents are better if it is a "get to know each other" type of thing, not so much a "here is some info about the program" thing. After all, by lunch I have already heard all about the program structure and stuff. I'd like to see what the residents like to do for fun, etc. Even basic stuff like where they're from, are they married/single, what is life like in the city. It seems, though, that when at lunch, everytime I try to direct conversation towards what they're like they redirect to "we have x many surgicals, and x many autopsies". I really want to know if I get along with the residents at the program.

4. So far I have only had one tough interview. He asked me to "tell the positives and negatives of other programs you've been to". He also asked "what are the postives and negatives of place x (where i had not yet interviewed)". Otherwise most pathology interviews have been a breeze. I don't know if it is like this for other fields or not.

5. I don't know about you all, but I have known where I was going to rank a program after like 2 hours. I think you can tell pretty fast if you are going to be a good fit there.

I'd be interested to hear thoughts from some of you about the interview trail. What stuff has been standing out to you?
 
1. I really appreciate it when interviews start at 9am instead of 8am.
Seriously. Its bad enough when you got only one interview to look after. Things really get crazy when you are flying into a new city at night cause of an interview the previous day, then got to check in, make sure your attire for the next day is all good..and then get up after 3 goddamn hours of sleep to get to the interview looking like the "applicant they are waiting for".. :mad: luckily for me, only had to do one back-to-back series, but that was enough!!

2. All clinical labs look the same.
Absolutely. Utter waste of time..except when you are allowed to use it to question the tour- guide resident about work-related issues. this is where the programs get their gloating done, but it is wasted on an applicant who rarely knows **** from cheese. I would definitely prefer to see where residents spend most of their time, and speaking to them about what are the pluses/minuses.

3. This is only my opinion, but lunches with residents are better if it is a "get to know each other" type of thing, not so much a "here is some info about the program" thing.I really want to know if I get along with the residents at the program.
Hate it when they look to sell you the program. Doesn't the fact that we have spent valuable time and money to come there in the first place show our interest? or is it the "we want only those who rank us #1" thinking? Atleast the residents shouldn't participate, esp when the setting is so informal. This is a major red flag, if you ask me..

4...most pathology interviews have been a breeze. I don't know if it is like this for other fields or not.
All the people I have met are really nice. They all just seemed interested in finding out what sort of person I am, or rather making sure I am not an a$$h*le. Not been put on the spot by anyone....yet.

5. I don't know about you all, but I have known where I was going to rank a program after like 2 hours. I think you can tell pretty fast if you are going to be a good fit there.
I get get to know after I spend some time with the residents- at lunch, or later in the residents' room if i am still undecided. I try to gauge whether they are genuinely happy with the place, or are they also out to "sell" the program...and I do so by trying to meet and speak with as many residents as I can, including atleast one first year. This is where honesty from the residents is really appreciated.
 
Fun topic!

drPLUM said:
3. This is only my opinion, but lunches with residents are better if it is a "get to know each other" type of thing, not so much a "here is some info about the program" thing.
I totally agree.

I usually start with "So are there any questions you haven't had answered yet that maybe we could help with?"
And over the weeks I've honed my technique to try to cover a lot of applicant-related ground at these interview lunches, topics have included:

- what call is like
- how far away residents live
- how much it costs to rent vs. buy
- # married vs single, # male vs female, # with kids
- what sort of applicants the program attracts
- what it's like working at the affiliated rotation sites
- what my rank-list was and why

I remember one applicant asked "Do the residents get along?", so I turned to one of the other PGY-1's at the table and said, "I hate you!" I mean, come on you applicant dude, you really should be able to pick up on this.

Some want the tour, some are like, nah it doesn't matter. All kinds, I guess.
 
And I'm done with interviews!! w00t!! :thumbup:
 
Aubrey said:
And I'm done with interviews!! w00t!! :thumbup:
Congratulations Aubrey! Now, I have but one suggestion for you: drink heavily. I'm a doctor (albeit not a real one) and this is serious medical advice :p
 
AngryTesticle said:
Congratulations Aubrey! Now, I have but one suggestion for you: drink heavily. I'm a doctor (albeit not a real one) and this is serious medical advice :p

Done and done. :cool:
 
I feel like I finished interviewing way too early :scared: . I am worried that the programs are going to forget about me. I know I am being OCD here but does anyone else feel this way? :(
 
miko2005 said:
I feel like I finished interviewing way too early :scared: . I am worried that the programs are going to forget about me. I know I am being OCD here but does anyone else feel this way? :(

I don't think they'll forget you. I saw some statistics that it makes no difference when you interview in terms of likelihood to match.

I am trying to figure out my #1 though, so that I can tell them that they are my #1.
 
miko2005 said:
I feel like I finished interviewing way too early :scared: . I am worried that the programs are going to forget about me. I know I am being OCD here but does anyone else feel this way? :(


Sorry, but I think you hit the nail on the head on this one. You're just being OCD. I finished last week and I feel nothing but happy to be done the all the interview BS. :p
 
miko2005 said:
I feel like I finished interviewing way too early :scared: . I am worried that the programs are going to forget about me. I know I am being OCD here but does anyone else feel this way? :(


I feel like the programs are forgetting me, too. I started early Nov., ended dec. 21, and haven't really heard back from any programs. I have been a little timid about asking for second looks but I guess I have to get over it if I want to match.
To make matters worse, my own school didn't invite me for an interview, :scared: which is such a blow because it is not an overly competitive program but I was counting it to be a safety 'cause it is better than not matching. I am pretty embarrassed about it and don't know if I should ask why and bring attention to it.

I just can't wait for all of this to be over. March can't come soon enough!
 
Dr.Nick Riveria said:
I feel like the programs are forgetting me, too. I started early Nov., ended dec. 21, and haven't really heard back from any programs. I have been a little timid about asking for second looks but I guess I have to get over it if I want to match.
To make matters worse, my own school didn't invite me for an interview, :scared: which is such a blow because it is not an overly competitive program but I was counting it to be a safety 'cause it is better than not matching. I am pretty embarrassed about it and don't know if I should ask why and bring attention to it.

I just can't wait for all of this to be over. March can't come soon enough!
Hey Dr Nick, I really hope that things will be looking up for you here! I know everything is really starting to get a little more crazy and hectic (I just finished last week and am thinking about starting a prophylactic PPI :) ), but the programs will remember you. I understand and feel the same way, it's tough. I'm really sorry to hear about your home school too- if you'd like to know and think that it would make you feel better, it couldn't hurt to ask them why. Best of luck to you :luck: and I agree- we all need a big fast forward button to make it March!
 
Dr.Nick Riveria said:
I feel like the programs are forgetting me, too. I started early Nov., ended dec. 21, and haven't really heard back from any programs. I have been a little timid about asking for second looks but I guess I have to get over it if I want to match.
To make matters worse, my own school didn't invite me for an interview, :scared: which is such a blow because it is not an overly competitive program but I was counting it to be a safety 'cause it is better than not matching. I am pretty embarrassed about it and don't know if I should ask why and bring attention to it.

I just can't wait for all of this to be over. March can't come soon enough!

Hey Dr.Nick Riveria,

I am sorry about your school's program but have you tried asking them why? Maybe it was an oversight. You shouldn't be embarrased at all.

I hate this whole process. It is way too painful and drawn out. My only goal is to match in the same city where my husband has to live and this just makes matching so much more stressful. :scared:
 
Today I will be celebrating because I found out that I passed Step 2 CK! Not only that but passed with a similar score to my Step 1 (which quite frankly shocks me, since I did so terribly bad on the clinical shelf exams and didn't exactly bring my 'A game' to prepare for the test). WOOOHOO!!!

I know there was a thread earlier this year, but are you guys updating programs with new info as you go along (test scores, new pubs, etc)? Will it even matter this late in the season?

On that note, I will be going off to select my brew of choice for this evening... and then proceed to rank list agonizing for tomorrow. :eek:

BTW... AT, I enjoyed lunch the other day. You guys have a super program and some outstanding people. I suppose there is no good way for an interviewee to ask if a particular resident is Angry Testicle. Heh, can you imagine being wrong about it...

Interviewee: Say, call me crazy but you remind me of this internet poster called Angry Testicle.

Resident: WTF! Are you some kind of weirdo?

Interviewee: Ok, well... looks like I'm not matching here. :oops:
 
drPLUM said:
BTW... AT, I enjoyed lunch the other day. You guys have a super program and some outstanding people. I suppose there is no good way for an interviewee to ask if a particular resident is Angry Testicle. Heh, can you imagine being wrong about it...

Interviewee: Say, call me crazy but you remind me of this internet poster called Angry Testicle.

Resident: WTF! Are you some kind of weirdo?

Interviewee: Ok, well... looks like I'm not matching here. :oops:
Haha! :laugh: Not surprising that I raised the suspicion that I was an AngryTesticle.

Hey man, it was good meeting you too...hope you enjoyed your visit and the rest of your interviews went well and you had a safe trip home.

The program coordinator had to remind me to fill out the eval sheet for you today. Don't worry...I hooked you up! If you matched here, it would be great to have ya. If you do end up here and are interested in buying a place, don't hesitate to contact me regarding real estate agents.
 
drPLUM said:
I know there was a thread earlier this year, but are you guys updating programs with new info as you go along (test scores, new pubs, etc)? Will it even matter this late in the season?

Congrats on the Step 2 CK!! I am the one who posted the thread about new publications and updating programs. I never did end up telling the programs about my publications because I just couldn't come up with a way to not make it sound like bragging or sounding obnoxious. I think it may be different for test scores though??

Where did you end up interviewing?
 
Top