Official 2019-2020 Psychiatry Interview Invite Thread

[WorldChanger36]

Can you give examples of some of these programs?

There are a few of in New York, New Jersey and Florida for sure. St Johns and Interfaith in New York comes to mind.

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[Mass Effect]

I imagine one can judge their interview performance roughly by their med school interview:acceptance ratio.

Nah. You can be a superstar on paper and be ok or somewhat awkward at interviews and still get a med school acceptance. When you're interviewing for psychiatry, interview is everything.

 

[docksan]

I imagine one can judge their interview performance roughly by their med school interview:acceptance ratio.

No. It doesn't work this way. I mean, sure you're usually a good judge of your interviewing, but I can't tell you how many time I've heard "this thing now is a good predictor of then" - specifically directed at me - followed by me defying said predictions.

I interviewed at one school. Accepted to said school. I wouldn't dare interview at 1 institution for residency, no matter how confident I felt.

 

[nebuchadnezzarII]

Very grateful that I have 4 interviews in my home state/where I want to live. 1 is reach, 1 is mid-tier, and 2 are on the lower-end of programs (but I'd still be very happy there). Is it reasonable to be confident matching into one of these 4? I'm a mid-tier applicant.

 

[docksan]

I think at like 4 interviews you're still above like a 75% chance of matching? I don't want to drum up a false sense of security but odds are more in your favor than they aren't, all things considered equal.

I hope the season treats you well.

 

[Mass Effect]

I think at like 4 interviews you're still above like a 75% chance of matching?

Is that based on last year's post-match data? I don't know what the numbers say, but I knew a person who matched with only one interview and I've known people who didn't after ranking 7 - 10 programs. There are too many variables. All you can do is apply, interview, rank, and hope for the best.

 

[Gandyy]

So at this point, I still do not have close to the 10-12 interviews that one needs to have to be "safe". So I ended up applying to 10 IM low tier programs as a backup and I have not gotten a response from them either. Any advice on a next step?

 

[nebuchadnezzarII]

So at this point, I still do not have close to the 10-12 interviews that one needs to have to be "safe". So I ended up applying to 10 IM low tier programs as a backup and I have not gotten a response from them either. Any advice on a next step?

How many do you have man?

 

[FlowRate]

Does that mean it’s bad if the conversation just falls short? I’m very straight to the point so I answered the questions concisely and the interviews usually ended early. There was usually a pause between questions. I’m okay with silence but I’m not sure about the interviewers.

There's a gradation along poverty of speech, concision, normal, long-winded, and tangential/over-inclusive. Anywhere in the middle three is fine or depends on interviewer preference.

I have heard people are very poor judges of their interview performances. We often do better than we think we do actually. I think the best course of action is to be yourself. Not everyone is a huge talker and that is not a bad thing!

I think I overstayed my welcome at a couple of interviews for med school. I thought that the interviewer talking with you over the allotted time was a good thing but in retrospect it might have been someone who had trouble kicking people out of their office. And even then I can't know whether it was perceived as a good or bad interview.

 

[downwithDTB]

Nah. You can be a superstar on paper and be ok or somewhat awkward at interviews and still get a med school acceptance. When you're interviewing for psychiatry, interview is everything.

Both my medical school and residency rate interviewees on a number of factors including both objective accomplishments and subjective interview performance. The interview certainly isn't everything and I've met some pretty awkward psychiatists in life, including some with significant interpersonal challenges with very high research functioning who graduated from tip top programs.

No. It doesn't work this way. I mean, sure you're usually a good judge of your interviewing, but I can't tell you how many time I've heard "this thing now is a good predictor of then" - specifically directed at me - followed by me defying said predictions.

I interviewed at one school. Accepted to said school. I wouldn't dare interview at 1 institution for residency, no matter how confident I felt.

Of course you wouldn't, and if all med schools deferred acceptance decisions until June and you had other interview offers, I doubt you'd have turned them down then. I'd also offer that you didn't interview enough for my idea to be at all a valid predictor.

I was just giving a general suggestion that perhaps if someone interviewed for 5 med schools where they were about an average applicant via grades/MCAT and got accepted to 4, they are probably an ok interview vs. someone similar who was accepted to 1, who was probably not so great. I did not suggest that if you got into every med school that you applied to and had a 43 mcat from Harvard that you should only interview at man's greatest for residency...

 

[docksan]

I generally agree with everything you said.

 

[Pandy4993]

So far, I’ve held off on letters of interest as I have no compelling connections to anywhere other than my home city, which is where I currently go to medical school, and the city I did my undergraduate in (in another region of the country) both of which are obviously clear from my app. I’ve also had no luck in these regions other than at in state programs.

I’m a very uncompetitive US MD applicant who applied to just over 100 programs and I’m at 9 interviews and 2 rejections. I know 10-12 is supposed to be the “goal,” so I was going to try to send out some letters anyway, focusing on community and neighboring programs, assuming they aren’t going to do any damage, even if they don’t help? I guess I’m wondering if it’s looked down upon to do this when I’ll basically just be pulling info off programs’ websites to put in my emails?

I’m definitely grateful for the interviews I have, but I’m still kind of terrified. Going back to the discussion above, I got 1 acceptance out of 9 med school interviews and I was a high stats applicant back then, so I don’t think I should be super hopeful about blowing anyone away during interviews, lol.

 

[lawdosis]

Have to say so far this has been disheartening as hell. I've received 3 rejections so far, nothing else. I mean as a non US IMG I figured there would be a dry spell, but this is crazy.

 

[splik]

Have to say so far this has been disheartening as hell. I've received 3 rejections so far, nothing else. I mean as a non US IMG I figured there would be a dry spell, but this is crazy.

IMGs do not usually receive interview invites until later in the season (i.e. from about this time). So there is still everything to play for. Also people start cancelling later interviews, so IMGs are more likely to get later interviews (e.g. in Jan). If you have not already, now is the time to contact programs of interest with a brief email specifically stating your interest in that program and highlighting any notable attributes to you. If you have any advocates who know people at said programs, then they can reach out to people on your behalf. Unfortunately, with the increase in US medical students, it is harder for IMGs to match, however IMGs still make up a sizeable proportion of psychiatry residents each year, and many are selected over US students, so there is still everything to play for, especially if there are no red flags to your application. The most competitive applicants will have fewer than 5 yrs since residency, have 2 months+ on US clinical experience in the form of med school electives, strong letters of recommendation, high board scores, and evidence of a commitment to a career in psychiatry.

 

[Psychferlyfe3000]

Are there programs that send out love letters to all applicants s/p interviewing? I got one saying I'd be a "perfect fit", but am not sure if it is sent to everyone.

 

[docksan]

I haven't received any so I just imagine it means I'm garbage.

 

[downwithDTB]

Are there programs that send out love letters to all applicants s/p interviewing? I got one saying I'd be a "perfect fit", but am not sure if it is sent to everyone.

It means they are probably ranking you.

Unless they send you a signed contract or something else that your lawyer will be able to extract a juicy settlement from if you don't match there, it means absolutely nothing.

"Ranked to match" "Top of our list" "We'll see you here next year" all mean nothing.

"We have ranked you x" might give your lawyer a shot if they didn't.

 

[OldPsychDoc]

I haven't even started interviewing, and the Post-Interview Communication hysteria is starting...

Oh no! I'm behind!

 

[docksan]

Going to my third now and have heard zilch from the first two. Guess I'm not ranked lmao.

 

[downwithDTB]

Going to my third now and have heard zilch from the first two. Guess I'm not ranked lmao.

Hearing something = you're probably ranked.
Hearing nothing = you're probably ranked.

If you are going to hear anything, it is most likely going to be in response to a thank you or closer to the end of the season after enough interviews have happened for a rank list to be clear enough.

I got lots of love from places that I did not match to; excessively so to the point of lies from one. I had complete radio silence from the place I did match and was ranked pretty decently by them.

Do not read into any of this communication garbage, especially at this point.

 

[docksan]

Okay.

 

[MacDonaldTriad]

I haven't even scheduled a selection committee meeting to rank anything yet. Don't have a big enough cohort of interviewed applicants to start comparing them to one an other.

 

[Gandyy]

How many do you have man?

Only 7. Yea.. not looking good. So any advice on the next step? I have back up applied to some IM programs and have 2-3 Interviews from those as well.

 

[kopftonmd]

Since people are interviewing, may I lodge a humble plea that one of you exceedingly magnanimous current applicants/fourth years begin (and contribute to) a thread of interview reviews?

These have been great resources for people still coming through the training pipeline. Last year's thread (2018-2019 Psychiatry Interview Reviews / Insight) was... unimpressive, but I know that you guys can do better! Many thanks in advance for your consideration.

 

[Oedipa Maas]

Since people are interviewing, may I lodge a humble plea that one of you exceedingly magnanimous current applicants/fourth years begin (and contribute to) a thread of interview reviews?

These have been great resources for people still coming through the training pipeline. Last year's thread (2018-2019 Psychiatry Interview Reviews / Insight) was... unimpressive, but I know that you guys can do better! Many thanks in advance for your consideration.

I can start it. Would anyone be interested in the anonymous reviews aspect where they submit to me and I post without revealing who sent it? Bc...I only have 6 lined up so that would make for a paltry thread and be very revealing as to who I am.

Edit: Those comfortable posting themselves would be welcome too of course.

 

[kopftonmd]

I can start it. Would anyone be interested in the anonymous reviews aspect where they submit to me and I post without revealing who sent it? Bc...I only have 6 lined up so that would make for a paltry thread and be very revealing as to who I am.

Edit: Those comfortable posting themselves would be welcome too of course.

Thank you!!!

Last year I also volunteered to help out with anonymous reviews if needed to try and juice the thread, as did a couple of others. Anything to facilitate the transmission of wisdom!

Hopefully we can keep this great tradition going strong.

 

[Oedipa Maas]

Thank you!!!

Last year I also volunteered to help out with anonymous reviews if needed to try and juice the thread, as did a couple of others. Anything to facilitate the transmission of wisdom!

Hopefully we can keep this great tradition going strong.

Done!

 

[lockian]

Yeahh, so at this point in the year residencies, IF they've even started interviewing, are only going to have a rough idea of where they'll rank you.

Sending a letter about how much you liked a program can give you a small boost in the rankings. At the same time, if you don't send a love letter, you might start out as highly ranked but end up moved down in favor of another good candidate who they know wants to come.

So do send love letters but don't necessarily expect any communication in return.

So far, I’ve held off on letters of interest as I have no compelling connections to anywhere other than my home city, which is where I currently go to medical school, and the city I did my undergraduate in (in another region of the country) both of which are obviously clear from my app. I’ve also had no luck in these regions other than at in state programs.

I’m a very uncompetitive US MD applicant who applied to just over 100 programs and I’m at 9 interviews and 2 rejections. I know 10-12 is supposed to be the “goal,” so I was going to try to send out some letters anyway, focusing on community and neighboring programs, assuming they aren’t going to do any damage, even if they don’t help? I guess I’m wondering if it’s looked down upon to do this when I’ll basically just be pulling info off programs’ websites to put in my emails?

I’m definitely grateful for the interviews I have, but I’m still kind of terrified. Going back to the discussion above, I got 1 acceptance out of 9 med school interviews and I was a high stats applicant back then, so I don’t think I should be super hopeful about blowing anyone away during interviews, lol.

If you've not gotten enough interviews by this point, I don't think it can hurt to send letters of interest. People are applying to more places, and programs are still working to adjust to the higher influx of applications. Anything you can do to make yourself stand out is going to be helpful because it shows you're not just another person who took the "shotgun" approach. You don't necessarily need a geographic connection, just pick something about the program that aligns with your interests.

If you don't think you interview well, maybe do some mock interviews with a faculty member you're comfortable with, preferably in psychiatry. Ask them for honest feedback. If your med school is part of an institution that also has a residency, use the leaders of that residency as a resource. Have them practice interviews with you, and ask them what they can do to help you. They very likely want you to match, whether or not it's with them.

 

[moromoke]

Are there programs that send out love letters to all applicants s/p interviewing? I got one saying I'd be a "perfect fit", but am not sure if it is sent to everyone.

Which program lol. I got something similar haha

 

[tellme_areyoufree]

Are there programs that send out love letters to all applicants s/p interviewing? I got one saying I'd be a "perfect fit", but am not sure if it is sent to everyone.

Put zero stock in post interview communication. Your response to yourself should be "that's nice." Whether they send it to everybody or whether they thought you were a special sunflower, it should not impact your ranking.

 

[Psychferlyfe3000]

Alright embarrassing question: why am I unable to add anything to the spreadsheet / how do I go about doing that?

 

[moromoke]

Anyone interview at Charles R Drew in LA? I have it coming up soon?

 

[EarlyCareerAcademicPsych]

Hearing something = you're probably ranked.
Hearing nothing = you're probably ranked.

If you are going to hear anything, it is most likely going to be in response to a thank you or closer to the end of the season after enough interviews have happened for a rank list to be clear enough.

I got lots of love from places that I did not match to; excessively so to the point of lies from one. I had complete radio silence from the place I did match and was ranked pretty decently by them.

Do not read into any of this communication garbage, especially at this point.

I fully agree with this part: "Do not read into any of this communication garbage, especially at this point"

If you get an interview, the residency program is interested in you. Residency programs do not invite applicants who they are not interested in joining their programs.

If you show up and you get yourself calm enough to just be yourself (which must include being polite and reasonably respectful to everyone (interviewers, residents, other staff), then you have done your job for the interview. After the interview, your job is done. You can't really do much more.

A brief thank-you note is fine but it is NOT necessary.

More than one post-interview communication from an applicant is a waste of time and annoying.

 

[deleted98530]

Hello everyone,

I got a psychiatry interview invite at St. Johns Episcopal in Far Rockaway, NY and was wondering if anyone has interviewed here or know of anyone that has interviewed here. If so, how did you like it and what types of questions were asked. Thank you!

 

[tutu123]

They say that most people will "match at least at their top 5..." However, doesn't that totally depend on the caliber of the program? For example, if your top 5 are all in the top 10 highest ranked programs, I feel like matching at your "top 5" would be a little harder, vs. if your top 5 were mid to lower-tier programs, then the chances of you matching at your number 1 are higher.

 

[downwithDTB]

They say that most people will "match at least at their top 5..." However, doesn't that totally depend on the caliber of the program? For example, if your top 5 are all in the top 10 highest ranked programs, I feel like matching at your "top 5" would be a little harder, vs. if your top 5 were mid to lower-tier programs, then the chances of you matching at your number 1 are higher.

Right, "most." It has nothing to do with the quality of the programs but the strength of the applicant relative to the programs they are interviewing at.

 

[tutu123]

Right, "most." It has nothing to do with the quality of the programs but the strength of the applicant relative to the programs they are interviewing at.

Yep. that's what i figured. i have basically come to realize: don't fret about all of this. leave it to the match gods to do their magic and trust the system!

 

[Monocles]

Old person here just browsing during my lunch break ... that google doc you guys made this year is godly.

Also lmao at the "sh-t that happened tab"

 

[samac]

I stayed away from this thread, quite frankly because I was stubborn and didn't want to hear the have a backup specialty talk. I've decided I wanna be here and be in the trenches with you guys so Heeeeeeyyyyyy guys.

 

[docksan]

Welcome!

 

[samac]

Welp. I killed the thread lol

 

[Thelonious Chunk]

Welp. I killed the thread lol

It’s been slowing down for a few weeks now. The reddit spreadsheet is still active.

 

[docksan]

Welp. I killed the thread lol

It's okay, we're students. We're not liable.

 

[nebuchadnezzarII]

Is 12 interviews safe?

 

[samac]

Is 12 interviews safe?

Yes.

 

[downwithDTB]

Is 12 interviews safe?

Look at charting outcomes: if you're a US MD, with 12 to 20 ranks you go from 96% to 99% match. DO it's 91% to 99%. IMGs go from 70s to mid 90s.

So it depends a bit on what you consider "safe." It also depends on how likely you are to be an outlier. Are you very clearly a bad interviewer (i.e. despite a 3.8 and 35 MCAT go into 1 med school even though you interviewed at 15 or you make no eye contact)? Did you interview with active psychosis or mania? Do you have a major red flag that may impact licensing? Did you only interview at very top programs? Do you interview at places that don't take many of your category DO/carribean/FMG/ect? Did you own your red flags and fix them, or did you do bad on step 1 and not take step 2 yet, ect?

What's beyond safe for the average US MD who interviewed at a safety program or two might be a huge risk for a DO who interviewed at mixed programs and has a DUI.

 

[lawdosis]

Is 12 interviews safe?

Lol I wish I was in your shoes, I'm still sitting pretty at 0..

 

[samac]

Lol I wish I was in your shoes, I'm still sitting pretty at 0..

any reason you can pin down?

 

[lawdosis]

any reason you can pin down?

Yep, I think I've narrowed it down to a few red flags. I'm a non-US IMG from a pretty unknown Carib school (yay). Step 2ck was poooor. CV was pretty anorexic.. I'm pretty sure I'm not gonna match this round so decisions...

 

[samac]

Yep, I think I've narrowed it down to a few red flags. I'm a non-US IMG from a pretty unknown Carib school (yay). Step 2ck was poooor. CV was pretty anorexic.. I'm pretty sure I'm not gonna match this round so decisions...

Sorry lawdosis. That’s rough. Do you plan on trying to soap into an open family spot or something along those lines?