Post-interview process

[zeloc]

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I've interviewed at several IM programs so far, and I have had 2 separate interviews at each, but not with the program director, except at 1 program. How do they make their rank lists based on the fact that there are so many different people interviewing and the program director doesn't interview that many people? I guess what I'm asking is, how much is the decision of the interviewers worth, and how much influence do program directors typically have on the process? Or do each of the interviewers assign numbers and try to standardize it because there are so many interviewers?

 

[zeloc]

As usual, I eventually figured out some of the information I was asking, perhaps aProgDirector could add more, but no doubt it differs from program to program.

At one of my recent interviews, the program director said that each of our 2 interviewers were part of a committee, and then after the interviews the entire committee, including the program director, would sit down and discuss each of the applicants, including the interview materials as well as the interviews themselves. I'm assuming that the comments of the 2 interviewers would take precedence in the discussion, but be modified by the program director and the paper applications themselves.

 

[chintu]

That's good to know. Recently after one of my interviews when I wrote a thank you note to the pd he replied and said that I had made a great impression during my interviews and I will fit well in with the residency staff there. In hindsight I felt like it was my best interview but I wonder if there is any validity to such comments or does the pd usually just say this to everyone who writes them?

 

[NotAProgDirector]

As you mentioned, each program does things differently. Most of us use some sort of committee. Some combination of acacdemic credentials + USMLE+ Interview + Resident feedback + gut instinct = place on rank list.

Remember that big programs rank 100's of people -- so we don't spend tons of time agonizing over who is #70 vs. #71

 

[zeloc]

As you mentioned, each program does things differently. Most of us use some sort of committee. Some combination of acacdemic credentials + USMLE+ Interview + Resident feedback + gut instinct = place on rank list.

Remember that big programs rank 100's of people -- so we don't spend tons of time agonizing over who is #70 vs. #71

What do you mean by big programs, expressed in terms of number of categoricals accepted PGY-1 or categoricals + preliminaries?

 

[NotAProgDirector]

Many programs consider ranking 15+ people per slot. So a program with 30 slots per year might interview/rank 300-450 people. It's going to vary from program to program

 

[yippyskippy]

Originally Posted by chintu
Recently after one of my interviews when I wrote a thank you note to the pd he replied and said that I had made a great impression during my interviews and I will fit well in with the residency staff there. In hindsight I felt like it was my best interview but I wonder if there is any validity to such comments or does the pd usually just say this to everyone who writes them?

I was wondering the same thing. I got an email from the PD after my interview saying that I would fit in well at the program, hope I was seriously considering their program (before sending any sort of thank you) and I was psyched, but am not sure whether it even means anything? Are these common? It must at least mean they will rank you somewhere on their list, no?