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I figured I would start a new thread about this as interview time is quickly approaching, and when I was a student it was a very stressful time for me. Although many will tell you what they think its like, or having recently been through it, I have been in the process for years, first as a student, then as a resident helping my director interview prospective residents, and finally as an interviewer for a couple of different residencies. This is by now means a comprehensive list, and I will add to it when my old brain remembers new things. Also, for the residents and attendings out there, please feel free to add to this if I've missed anything or have something to add. Additions are welcome.
1) Apply to as many programs as you can afford. I made this mistake and only applied to a select number of programs and was agast when I was only invited to a handful of interviews. If the process is similar to the way it was years ago, you will not get invited to every interview simply because you applied and paid out the fee. Do yourself a favor and over apply.
2) Your interviews are academic in nature. I never found it altogether fair that someone with 25 years of real world experience is asking questions to students expecting them to know these things with little to no experience, but you will be asked this stuff. I used the Presby manual and the Hershey book to study and they served me very well. The best interviews I had were the ones that made me think. I may have not gotten the "right" answer, but I learned a lot, and felt these were the fairest interviews. Be prepared to be grilled by some of the more sought after programs. One thing about this is that the person interviewing you doesn't want to hear what they did for the case, they want to hear what YOU would do. If what you say is reasonable and makes sense for that case and you "sell" it, it may impress them more than if you "agree" with what they did. Don't get down on yourself if they say, "I like what you did...here's what I did." That may be more of a compliment than you realise.
3) You may be asked to sit in front of a panel of attendings and/or residents for your interviews. This is an intimidating situation for sure, and they know that, so try to relax. Some are purposely trying to intimidate you to see how you fair in this environment. They mostly don't do this maliciously. They want to see how you function under fire. If you know you sweat a lot in these situations bring something to wipe your brow with. Also bring some extra shirts as no one wants to smell a sweaty student with BO sitting in on an interview. Change your shirt if you need to. Try not to fidget too much and watch what you do with your hands. I crossed my hands on my lap (not crossed my arms in front of me; that looks defensive) and kept them there unless asked to point something out on a radiographs or asked to do something with my hands.
4) Know your stuff. If you don't, tell them so. If you try to babble your way through an interview, it will not only fluster you, but will look terrible to your interviewers. "I don't know" is your friend. You will not get all the answers. Don't blow it off, but also know your limitations. Also, if you are invited back for a second interview, you better know what you didn't for your first interview. This is a common trap. Don't fall into it.
5) Review radiographs, CTs, MRIs and even US. You will be asked to evaluate these during your interviews. Sometimes its difficult to relate real world anatomy to a 2D picture, but you must be able to do this. Have a technique to do this as well. Follow a systematic approach to reading films and use it everytime. Basically have a schpiel for every film. This is especially important for trauma cases. My trauma class at Temple was AMAZING, and I still use the technique taught back then when describing any type of film in my medical records. If you don't know what I'm talking about, say so in this thread and I'll start another thread to discuss it. There is an awesome MRI book relating real world anatomy to the 2D image by Dr. William H. Simon, DPM. He is a friend and did a great job with this book. Find and look at it. It will help you tremendously if you have trouble with this.
7) Practice suturing on pig's feet. Practice deboning a chicken with a sharp kitchen knife (yes, seriously...some of my classmates where asked to do this in interviews). Play FPS games on your favorite console. Do anything to increase your manual dexterity. Nothing impresses interviewers more than being able to do something dexterous while answering rapid fire, difficult questions. Seemingly ridiculous, yes. Doing this well and wowing someone, priceless. Suturing especially. Its the first thing you will be allowed to do in the OR as a resident. If you know how and well, cutting is the next step!
6) Don't party the weekend of the interviews. Especially if you're staying at the same hotel as your interviewers. No one wants to see a prospective resident getting sloshed and acting the fool in public. If you are invited to a cocktail hour, either have one drink or something non-alcoholic. Believe it or not, these events are more for the attendings to unwind a bit and see you in a more social environment. I know its artificial, but do the best you can.
I hope you've heard some of these suggestions before, and please feel free to comment. As always, good luck!! You are the future...do us proud😀.
1) Apply to as many programs as you can afford. I made this mistake and only applied to a select number of programs and was agast when I was only invited to a handful of interviews. If the process is similar to the way it was years ago, you will not get invited to every interview simply because you applied and paid out the fee. Do yourself a favor and over apply.
2) Your interviews are academic in nature. I never found it altogether fair that someone with 25 years of real world experience is asking questions to students expecting them to know these things with little to no experience, but you will be asked this stuff. I used the Presby manual and the Hershey book to study and they served me very well. The best interviews I had were the ones that made me think. I may have not gotten the "right" answer, but I learned a lot, and felt these were the fairest interviews. Be prepared to be grilled by some of the more sought after programs. One thing about this is that the person interviewing you doesn't want to hear what they did for the case, they want to hear what YOU would do. If what you say is reasonable and makes sense for that case and you "sell" it, it may impress them more than if you "agree" with what they did. Don't get down on yourself if they say, "I like what you did...here's what I did." That may be more of a compliment than you realise.
3) You may be asked to sit in front of a panel of attendings and/or residents for your interviews. This is an intimidating situation for sure, and they know that, so try to relax. Some are purposely trying to intimidate you to see how you fair in this environment. They mostly don't do this maliciously. They want to see how you function under fire. If you know you sweat a lot in these situations bring something to wipe your brow with. Also bring some extra shirts as no one wants to smell a sweaty student with BO sitting in on an interview. Change your shirt if you need to. Try not to fidget too much and watch what you do with your hands. I crossed my hands on my lap (not crossed my arms in front of me; that looks defensive) and kept them there unless asked to point something out on a radiographs or asked to do something with my hands.
4) Know your stuff. If you don't, tell them so. If you try to babble your way through an interview, it will not only fluster you, but will look terrible to your interviewers. "I don't know" is your friend. You will not get all the answers. Don't blow it off, but also know your limitations. Also, if you are invited back for a second interview, you better know what you didn't for your first interview. This is a common trap. Don't fall into it.
5) Review radiographs, CTs, MRIs and even US. You will be asked to evaluate these during your interviews. Sometimes its difficult to relate real world anatomy to a 2D picture, but you must be able to do this. Have a technique to do this as well. Follow a systematic approach to reading films and use it everytime. Basically have a schpiel for every film. This is especially important for trauma cases. My trauma class at Temple was AMAZING, and I still use the technique taught back then when describing any type of film in my medical records. If you don't know what I'm talking about, say so in this thread and I'll start another thread to discuss it. There is an awesome MRI book relating real world anatomy to the 2D image by Dr. William H. Simon, DPM. He is a friend and did a great job with this book. Find and look at it. It will help you tremendously if you have trouble with this.
7) Practice suturing on pig's feet. Practice deboning a chicken with a sharp kitchen knife (yes, seriously...some of my classmates where asked to do this in interviews). Play FPS games on your favorite console. Do anything to increase your manual dexterity. Nothing impresses interviewers more than being able to do something dexterous while answering rapid fire, difficult questions. Seemingly ridiculous, yes. Doing this well and wowing someone, priceless. Suturing especially. Its the first thing you will be allowed to do in the OR as a resident. If you know how and well, cutting is the next step!
6) Don't party the weekend of the interviews. Especially if you're staying at the same hotel as your interviewers. No one wants to see a prospective resident getting sloshed and acting the fool in public. If you are invited to a cocktail hour, either have one drink or something non-alcoholic. Believe it or not, these events are more for the attendings to unwind a bit and see you in a more social environment. I know its artificial, but do the best you can.
I hope you've heard some of these suggestions before, and please feel free to comment. As always, good luck!! You are the future...do us proud😀.
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