Questions to ask

[EMIMG]

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Here is a listing of some questions you should not be afraid to ask during the interview. Remember, you are interviewing a program just as much as they are interviewing you.

Procedures - how many and what type (ask to see a 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th if they have them year procedure log).

Responsibilities (is it graduated or can the interns see the tough cases as well). Also, do you actualy see patients if you are doing a 4th year or are you a junior attending at resident pay?

Traumas - who runs them, who does the procedures, how many?

Peds - are adults and peds seen in the same ED, or are there 2 separate EDs. What is the mix?

Shifts - how long are they scheduled for, how long do they last, how many patients per hour do you see?

ED - what is the total volume, admission percentage, wait time for beds?

Ancillary staff - how is it? Is there 24 hour radiology coverage, and if so, is it done by residents. attendings, or both (i.e. do you need to wait until the AM for official reads to send pts home). What is the coverage for things like Ultrasound and is it different for vascular studies (DVTs)

Other experiences - Research opportunities and projects. Ultrasound experience (trust me, this is going to become an integral part of training and use for Emergency Physicians in the future), EMS, Flight, etc.

Off-service rotations - how are they? How are you perceived as an EM resident? And, do you have to go to other hospitals for additional experience (i.e. trauma - remember, if you go elsewhere for trauma, you will probably only see truama during those limited months).

Outside of residency issues - how friendly are the residents? Do they get together? What do they do to unwind? What is around the geographic area.

These are just starters and things that I think are important to ask or have answered about a program. Feel free to add more.

 

[USCDiver]

Hey everyone,

I just wanted to bring this thread back to the front to see if anyone had anything to add now that we're in the thick of interview season.

Good Luck

 

[Sutureboy]

?Responsibilities (is it graduated or can the interns see the tough cases as well). Also, do you actualy see patients if you are doing a 4th year or are you a junior attending at resident pay??

This is a very different perspective on the senior role than what I?ve seen and heard. Most residents want to be in a supervisory role and not working as a res-intern in their senior year.

A lot of the answers to the questions listed by EMIMG can be found on the SAEM residency catalogue or are better assessed by hanging around the department for a few hours and watching how the place works.

If you want to get the scoop on the problems in the program (although there is always a fine line between getting the info and scoring poorly on the interview by hitting a touchy subject) here are a few others:

1. What is the accreditation status of the program (full, provisional, probation) and how many years if full accreditation?
2. What were the citations on the last RRC review and how were these addressed?
3. How do the residents provide input and what changes have been made in the last few years because of resident concerns?
4. How is the hospital doing financially and is there any risk of attending or resident positions being cut in the next few years?
5. How many residents have left the program before finishing their training in the past 3 years? Why and where did they go?
6. How much does the chairman and program director work clinically? Are they well respected by the faculty and within the institution?

 

[NeedMyCoffee]

I think something else worth asking of the PD is what his plans are, to see how dedicated he is to the residency. If he/she goes on and on about his own professional growth and barely mentions his commitment to the residency, maybe that's a problem...

 

[joeG]

That's an excellent question...

 

[Chris_Topher]

Received the publication today EMResident from EMRA that has a list of questions PDs like to hear and another that they like to ask.