Residency Interviews

[mr willie]

Hello everyone - I am beginning interviews for residency positions next week. Does anyone who has been through the process have any advice?

Also, I've heard it said that the prospective resident should be interviewing the program as much as vice-versa. Any suggestions regarding what questions should be asked of each program?

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[TotalKayOs]

i have my firrst interview tomorrow at noon. i didn't get much warning. they called monday 4pm to set up a wed noon interview. i guess it's a whole afternoon thing. some questions to ask are:
frequency and format of evaluation?
hiring former residents?
pt population of hospital
# of elective rotations?
is schedule made in advance w/out consulting me?
# of position offered?
benefits?
vacations?
is staffing required? if so #
on call duty?
projects?
primary roles?

that's about all i have and what I am going to ask. i'm sure i'm going to make things up as i go along too.

 

[twinklingtea]

Hello everyone - I am beginning interviews for residency positions next week. Does anyone who has been through the process have any advice?

Also, I've heard it said that the prospective resident should be interviewing the program as much as vice-versa. Any suggestions regarding what questions should be asked of each program?

honestly, just going through the first interview helps. it takes the whole unknown factor out of it. at least it did for me. and YES, you should be interviewing them as well. this is something you're going to be dedicated to for a full year and you don't want to end up somewhere where you're miserable or find out things you didn't like after the fact. ask questions about what field you're interested in. if you're interested in cardio, ask if there's any cardio emphasis or a cardio rotation. also, if you don't like to do something ask about that too. if you don't like to teach, then you don't want to end up somewhere with an emphasis in teaching! good luck!!

 

[Ivorymist]

Beware of the current residents. Many times it may look like they're trying to relax you, but in reality most programs give them a vote in selecting which candidate to take.

 

[LVPharm]

Beware of the current residents. Many times it may look like they're trying to relax you, but in reality most programs give them a vote in selecting which candidate to take.

Absolutely true, in so far as you really ought to watch how you answer their questions...treat them like your interviewers in this respect. Even if the resident doesn't have a vote, it's likely that he or she is asked for their opinions on candidates. But, don't lose the opportunity, when you get them alone, to have them speak frankly about the program. My decision to rank one program last year depended on the honesty of a resident.

 

[Cocogirl]

Just wondering for those who are interviewing for residencies - have you been asked any clinical questions? If so, what kind of clinical questions have you been asked?

Would appreciate any feedback - this is a stressful process!

 

[spacecowgirl]

*bump*

 

[wrek92]

Actually,

I just found a reference to an article in AJHP that surveyed residency programs and tried to break down the residency interview process. The authors of the article sent surveys to various residency programs and asked them several questions such as:

Common criteria for inviting a residency candidate for interview
Most popular questions asked of candidates during an interview

The authors also include some tips about the interview process and what to expect such as having to give a presentation or expecting to meet with as many as 10 staff/faculty members throughout the day.

I would just attach the PDF file but I think it's a copyright violation. So, I am just going to post the reference:

Understanding and preparing for pharmacy practice residency interviews.
American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy. 61(16):1686-1689, August 15, 2004.
Mancuso, Carissa E.; Paloucek, Frank P.


Hope that helps,

 

[spacecowgirl]

Thanks so much for that article!

 

[Symlin]

Just wondering how interviews went for those of you that had early ones. I don't have any until Feb. b/c most of mine are out of state.

 

[wrek92]

Just had a phone interview today for a PGY-1 residency. It was only 30 minutes thank goodness but they got in some heavy hitting questions. I got questions such as:

How do you handle stress?
What do you anticipate a typical day for a resident to be like?
What are your expectations of spending time with your rotation preceptor to be like?
Why do you want to pursue a residency?
What are your strengths and weaknesses?

At least the residency director was forthcoming about my chances. They are screening 30 applicants via phone for 10 people that they want to interview on-site. Out of that 10 they are going to "accept" 4 positions. In a way, I guess that's a good thing. I would rather not spend $$ for plane tickets and lodging if I don't have to.

Happy Hunting,

 

[spacecowgirl]

I had one this morning and have another on Friday (out of state). I will post questions later, right now, I need a nap!

 

[spacecowgirl]

I got most of the typical questions mentioned in that article and a couple that threw me:

Most/least favorite rotation?

Why are you pursuing a residency?

Why are you pursuing THIS residency?

What specific skills do you have that set you apart from other applicants?

Strengths and weaknesses

If you could design your ideal residency what would it look like?

How do you handle change (got that one a lot)?

What are your career goals?

What is your philosophy of patient care? (totally wasn't expecting that one, and didn't really know what they meant when they asked. In retrospect, I can think of some good answers, but I have to admit it stumped me. I just hope I answered their other questions well enough).

Why did you pick your particular pharmacy school?

Why pharmacy? How did you choose pharmacy?

How much direction do you need/prefer?

Do you prefer group or individual projects?

Hope these help someone

 

[rxforlife2004]

Got an interview today and it was a pretty unique type of interview. Two portions: Clinical vs. Administration Portion. Each lasted for almost 40 mins. For the clinical portion, make sure you know what you are talking about, or else they'll ask you more and more and more to see if you BS your stuff. I got stuck at least at 3 questions out of 10 of them. I just simply said, "Sorry, I don't know the answer/don't remember the exact answer now".

As of the admin part, they asked about 1) Why residency 2)Strength/weakness 3) Why should we choose you 4) Can u handle....???

ANyway...the program is darn competitive. They interview 40 candidates and only 4 accepted

 

[lexis67]

Hi,

I start my residency interviews this week and I have to give a couple presentations. Has anyone experienced this yet? Any pointers, comments? Thanks!

 

[KARM12]

Just curious...where have you guys been interviewing? What do you think so far? How many programs did you apply to?

I graduate in September so I have to wait until the next cycle to apply. I am already nervous about it.

 

[gaba101]

wrek92, your phone interview sounded a lot like mine. i think i know where you interviewed.

 

[sangl1979]

I've been lucky to be invited for interviews, but none of them said anything specific about giving presentations... should i go ahead and contact them now or wait till they send me info packet? i'm excited but nervous at same time!!

 

[njac]

Some of mine do, some don't. Some mentioned it before the itinerary sent but not all. Most of mine have nothing!!! But 1 assigned journal club, 2 with 'writing assignments' and 1 mentions a case. I don't have itineraries from everyone yet though

 

[njac]

Fewer than 36 hours out from interview #1. I'm kinda freaking out. I take it they will not be impressed by me barfing a la Stan on South Park.

 

[Glycerin]

I take it they will not be impressed by me barfing a la Stan on South Park.

Yes, please don't.

 

[chitowngyrl]

For those who have interviewed in the past, do you get asked any clinical questions to test your knowledge?

Just wondering!

 

[RxWildcat]

I obviously haven't interviewed for one yet, however I have heard from several PGY1s that they got asked to write SOAP notes and had a few light clinical Qs.

 

[OHPharmd08]

I have my first residency interview tomorrow and I just rec'd the agenda. I am to meet with 9 different clinical pharmacists. It looks like I'll be meeting with them in a panel format. Is that the norm? I assume they will be bombarding me with all types of questions! Any help would be appreciated from candidates that have interviewed already. I feel sick to my stomach...how do you calm the nerves?? Thanks.

 

[Unraveling]

My first advice is to exercise in the morning to ease some of your anxiety then eat something before your interview. I had one interview where my stomach growled and I was so embarrassed. Then just be yourself and answer their questions after pausing to think about what your response will be. Remember to breathe and realize they're trying to get to know you rather than focusing on whether your answers are right or wrong. Good Luck!!!

 

[izzie516]

I have my first residency interview tomorrow and I just rec'd the agenda. I am to meet with 9 different clinical pharmacists. It looks like I'll be meeting with them in a panel format. Is that the norm? I assume they will be bombarding me with all types of questions! Any help would be appreciated from candidates that have interviewed already. I feel sick to my stomach...how do you calm the nerves?? Thanks.

I had a panel of 4 clinical pharmacists interviewing me yesterday. They bombarded me with so many questions that my brain was almost dead towards the end and I was close to losing my voice because I had talked non-stop. They were very kind though and nodded/smiled even though some of my answers didn't make much sense. So just relax and be yourself. I know it's hard to do, but you'll do just fine!

 

[OHPharmd08]

Thanks everyone for your advice.

I think it went pretty good. I was nervous at first but then I relaxed as the day went on. Everyone was very nice. They gave me two patient cases to read over and then answer questions about each case. They wanted to see my thought process and where I was clinically, I guess. I was bombarded with alot of questions. I had 3 sets of interviews with different clinical pharmacists, a tour, HR, and lunch with the current resident. It was a long day. Hopefully, I did good enough that they will rank me high.

 

[aelephant]

I had an interview on Wednesday and think it went very well. Thanks to all who have posted advice in this thread; some of it was very helpful. In particular, I did some weight lifting and cardio the night before my interview to burn off some stress and ate a big meal about an hour before I was scheduled. To offset post-prandialism I downed a big latte.

Q&A was pretty typical, I felt.

Clinical took me by surprise a bit, but I knew it was a possibility.

A lot of the questions were about material I haven't had to study in a long time, so I was honest and prefaced my answers by saying I'd look up most of my recommendations to be sure. Clinical questions included: a case about an elderly woman with COPD/asthma and pneumonia (what would you give her?, how would you treat her?, what bugs would you worry about?, etc); a case about opioid use in cancer pain (pt is concerned about addiction, discuss the case); and a case about anti-coag (10mg warfarin to a frail elderly woman on amiodarone).

I think I did well on the clinical questions, but I was very rusty. I HOPE they are looking for reasoning/critical thinking skills and not necessarily "the one right answer".

When I got the chance to ask MY questions, I asked what sets apart a residency candidate and how they would measure the success of a resident. They seemed surprised by my questions and I got the feeling the other interviewees hadn't asked good questions/any questions.

One of the current residents said they had some interviewees who locked up under pressure or had communication difficulties (ESL maybe).

For this location, it seemed like rapport and fitting in with the current group were there top priorities for a candidate.

I also did not get the feeling that they were trying to make the residency as hard as possible.