night before interviews

[ResidentMD]

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If there is no pre-interview dinner the night before (or an off-cycle interview day), is it acceptable to visit the hospital beforehand and have a chat with the residents, or would that come across as too intrusive? Ive heard it also shows you how things work around in the evening with no faculty around, in an informal atmosphere.

P.S. I'm applying for IM...in case opinions vary by specialty.

 

[WhoisJohnGalt]

Sorry meant to start new topic

 

[Frugal Traveler]

I'm going into IM as well. It would scare me if an applicant showed up at the hospital randomly the night before. You will meet residents during the day. If you want to know the true Hollywood story about a program, ask a medical student or resident on SDN.

 

[ResidentMD]

I'm going into IM as well. It would scare me if an applicant showed up at the hospital randomly the night before. You will meet residents during the day. If you want to know the true Hollywood story about a program, ask a medical student or resident on SDN.

I love how you make it sound as if there is something really wrong with a peson who does this 😉...but apparently, either KUMC or UNMC, I forget which one, recommend doing this on their residency advice page - that's why I thought I would ask what people here felt about this.

 

[asmallchild]

It can only hurt you. I would not do that.

 

[smq123]

If there is no pre-interview dinner the night before (or an off-cycle interview day), is it acceptable to visit the hospital beforehand and have a chat with the residents, or would that come across as too intrusive? Ive heard it also shows you how things work around in the evening with no faculty around, in an informal atmosphere.

P.S. I'm applying for IM...in case opinions vary by specialty.

That would be really weird, and probably very annoying to the residents. No one wants a visitor to show up unannounced. And trying to arrange it beforehand would be a lot of trouble for both the coordinator AND the residents. I wouldn't do this.

 

[tfom08]

I love how you make it sound as if there is something really wrong with a peson who does this 😉...but apparently, either KUMC or UNMC, I forget which one, recommend doing this on their residency advice page - that's why I thought I would ask what people here felt about this.

Haha, are you serious or joking? FrugalTraveler wasn't making it sound as if there would be something really wrong with this, THERE IS SOMETHING REALLY WRONG WITH THIS. Be a normal person and just wait for the interview day. People will laugh at you if you do this. Maybe not to your face, but definitely to the other residents and attendings when they see you the next day. If you do decide to do it, though, I would advise packing a lunchbox and a pillow and telling the residents you are planning to take call with them to see how the night shift nurses are about paging the on call residents.

 

[ResidentMD]

Haha, are you serious or joking? FrugalTraveler wasn't making it sound as if there would be something really wrong with this, THERE IS SOMETHING REALLY WRONG WITH THIS. Be a normal person and just wait for the interview day. People will laugh at you if you do this. Maybe not to your face, but definitely to the other residents and attendings when they see you the next day. If you do decide to do it, though, I would advise packing a lunchbox and a pillow and telling the residents you are planning to take call with them to see how the night shift nurses are about paging the on call residents.

I completely agree with you. I thought so too...until I read this.

http://www.kumc.edu/som/medsos/interv.html
Most interview schedules allot at least one hour for the applicant to interact with the current housestaff for the procurement of such information. Often this time is inadequate, however, especially if the ratio of applicants to house officers is high. A seldom utilized but highly recommended practice is that of visiting the hospital the evening before the scheduled interview. If not too busy, the house officers on call are usually more than willing to discuss their residency program at length, and tend to be more candid in this setting. In addition, the applicant may have the opportunity to see parts of the hospital and gain insights into the actual day to day realities of the training program that are not available to the average interviewee. The importance of the night-before visit and its potential yield of information cannot be over-emphasized.


However, I am a bit relieved everyone above shares the same opinion that this is really not advisable. Thanks.

P.S. Was wondering if I should take a sleeping bag as well, or would the on call resident offer his/her bed 😉?

 

[Frugal Traveler]

seldom

That's a keyword!

 

[synapse lapse]

So, I'll play devils advocate. I think in theory this isn't actually a bad idea, just in practice it may come off as strange or annoying. This would be highly personality and situation dependant I imagine. However, it's not like you are some kind of "gunner" applicant or something, or at least you shouldn't feel like that. Think about it like this - you fly hundreds of miles to interview for a position, you are nervous as hell interview day, and you get a quick tour of the hospital and some time to talk with residents that is limited. Worse, the discussions with said residents can be less than candid with "big brother" around all day, and you may not get the real deal. You leave after a day and now you must make a choice that affects the next few years if not the rest of your life. Unlike other careers there is no quitting or reassignments, this is it. So I wil say I don't think it's a bad idea in theory, but it could hurt you as an applicant (though probably being better for you to actually get an idea of where you belong).

 

[SouthernSurgeon]

So, I'll play devils advocate. I think in theory this isn't actually a bad idea, just in practice it may come off as strange or annoying.

I agree that it could be a good idea, and maybe if Kansas has some sort of organized program in place to do this it might be worth taking advantage of it. But what is posted on their website is NOT the norm, and as everyone has said the OP would be looked at very strangely if they did that at most programs.

 

[Winged Scapula]

As noted, perhaps this is done at that particular program, but I would find it a bit odd and would suspect that the hard-working residents might be a tad put out if a medical student showed up out of the blue while they were on call with loads of questions.

Perhaps if you find the program so interesting you can ask about hanging around after the interview or schedule a return 2nd look visit to spend time with the residents.

 

[ResidentMD]

Perhaps if you find the program so interesting you can ask about hanging around after the interview or schedule a return 2nd look visit to spend time with the residents.

Makes a lot more sense.

 

[lilnoelle]

I'm from KU. A classmate asked this question to an informal Q and A session with an interview panel on Thursday. (A service offered our fourth year students)
The panel all gave a resounding "no, thats very creepy."

I have no idea why someone placed that in our medSOS.

I completely agree with you. I thought so too...until I read this.

http://www.kumc.edu/som/medsos/interv.html
Most interview schedules allot at least one hour for the applicant to interact with the current housestaff for the procurement of such information. Often this time is inadequate, however, especially if the ratio of applicants to house officers is high. A seldom utilized but highly recommended practice is that of visiting the hospital the evening before the scheduled interview. If not too busy, the house officers on call are usually more than willing to discuss their residency program at length, and tend to be more candid in this setting. In addition, the applicant may have the opportunity to see parts of the hospital and gain insights into the actual day to day realities of the training program that are not available to the average interviewee. The importance of the night-before visit and its potential yield of information cannot be over-emphasized.


However, I am a bit relieved everyone above shares the same opinion that this is really not advisable. Thanks.

P.S. Was wondering if I should take a sleeping bag as well, or would the on call resident offer his/her bed 😉?

 

[NotAProgDirector]

From the title of this thread, I was expecting a poem:

'Twas the night before interview
and at the dinner before
Not a student was calm
Despite food and beer galore

The ERAS applications were submitted
Every word triple checked
In hopes that the Program Director
Would certainly not reject

The residents were all smiles
Free food for the night
While visions of new interns
Were a hopeful ray of light

"We love it here!"
"It's really quite benign!"
When really they're thinking of
How nice it might be to resign

And I in my office
reviewing applications for the morn
repetitive personal statements
have made me forlorn

But finally the interview day arrives
Applicants all dressed in funeral attire
bantering pleasantries with all
hoping to rank, not lower but higher

The chief resident, all asplendor
runs report with aplomb
a case of wegener's, or sprue
or something rare, Sjogren's syndrome

The residents are called upon
to demonstrate what they know
the Chair haughtily revels
in his subjects' obvious woe.

And then they are on tour
the resident trying to excite
her charges with awe
She shouts out each sight

"There! Wards! There! Unit!
There! Lab with bacteria!
And Clinic! And Cath lab!
And there, Cafeteria!"

And finally the moment
they have all feared with dread
like lambs to the slaughter
to interviews they are led

While debating with faculty
the pros and cons of the specialty
Shifting uncomfortably they think,
"I drank too much coffee"

And then it's off to lunch
a grand buffet of food
'cause feeding the hungry masses
is best to keep them subdued

The program director appears
the end of the day, to emcee
discussion ceases, complete silence
except for applicant borborygmi

I am dapper and suave
or perhaps awkward and shabby
or I'm stylish and chic
or even bitter and crabby

But regardless, applicants impress
their commitment to rank number one
regardless of their true feelings
that this program, they might shun

Finally, the day is finished
all participants have been thanked
as I confer with my staff
on how applicants will be ranked

But I am certain to exclaim
'ere I walk out of sight
"A happy match to all
and to all a good flight"

 

[ShyRem]

 

[sam1999]

Would it be wrong to check out the area surrounding the hospital? Like late afternoon walk/drive, depending upon location, either day before or after the interview.

 

[smq123]

Would it be wrong to check out the area surrounding the hospital? Like late afternoon walk/drive, depending upon location, either day before or after the interview.

No, that's totally normal.

Driving/walking around, looking at potential areas to live, places to eat on call, etc., is normal - I would say even a smart thing to do.

Going in and trying to interact with the residents the night before the interview when nothing was formally scheduled is weird.

 

[Blesbok]

I am not a resident yet, but honestly if I were on call and had some down time in which I was actually able to sit down and chat, I would be pissed that you were disrupting my tv/sleep time.

 

[Blesbok]

Would it be wrong to check out the area surrounding the hospital? Like late afternoon walk/drive, depending upon location, either day before or after the interview.

That is a very good idea. A) you can decide if you would actually like it there B) You can discuss it the next day and show that you spent the time to get to know the city and are interested in living there.

 

[Law2Doc]

I am not a resident yet, but honestly if I were on call and had some down time in which I was actually able to sit down and chat, I would be pissed that you were disrupting my tv/sleep time.

I don't think it's an issue of having down time, it's more an issue of residents wanting to finish stuff up and go home or go to sleep (as applicable). At night the last thing on your mind is being part of the recruiting process. You will be in the way 9 times out of 10. The resident isn't there at night to sell the program, or because it's fun to hang out on the wards at night. He's there because there is work to be done. I think if you are picturing residents sitting around waiting for the pager to go off with nothing better to do than chat up some applicant, you are picturing a very different kind of program than most folks on here are experiencing. This I agree with the person who suggested that this maneuver can only hurt you.

 

[ResidentMD]

I don't think it's an issue of having down time, it's more an issue of residents wanting to finish stuff up and go home or go to sleep (as applicable). At night the last thing on your mind is being part of the recruiting process. You will be in the way 9 times out of 10. The resident isn't there at night to sell the program, or because it's fun to hang out on the wards at night. He's there because there is work to be done. I think if you are picturing residents sitting around waiting for the pager to go off with nothing better to do than chat up some applicant, you are picturing a very different kind of program than most folks on here are experiencing. This I agree with the person who suggested that this maneuver can only hurt you.

Yes makes sense. I actually want to lock this topic now if there is a way, as it is a unanimous decision 🙂..I too, didnt really take it seriously till I saw it on the KUMC website, but as a med student from there has pointed out, even they dont support this anymore. Thanks for the opinions everyone, and aPD for the poem 🙂

 

[smq123]

Yeah, I think that this topic has run its course. Closing. 🙂