standard IM interview Qs?

[mossyfiber12]

---

Members don't see this ad.

Any of you guys have tips on how to prepare for my interviews? Are there some "standard" questions I should have a well thought out answers to?

So far I can think of

1. why IM?
2. why our program?
3. what are your strengths vs weaknesses?

 

[nznyc]

I've heard "Tell me about yourself" is a common one, although very broad and not sure where I would start..

 

[jdh71]

You must have answer to these three question

Why do you want to do IM?

Do you want to stay in academics?

Do you want to do fellowship?

 

[IMdocT]

here is my list as far as i remember from my interviews in no particular order, i think you should prepare answers for these
1) tell me about yourself
2) strengths and weaknesses
2b) example of one of these strengths or weaknesses and if weakness what did you learn from that event
3) why choose IM
4) why choose our program/what attracted your interest to our program
4b) do you know anyone at this program (previous/current attending/resident)
5) career goals (fellowship, general IM)
6) any past research or research interests
7) (if from far away) why choose this city/state/region, or (if close by) why stay around
8) takes a quote from letter or your statement and asks about it (review your app so you won't be surprised, you may not have had access to your letters so that would be more difficult, one interviewer read part of an LoR and i didn't realize that my sub-i attending thought so highly of me and was taken aback, she also asked me to give an example of what the attending meant by "organized" or "prioritizes")
9) gives you a simple case and asks you to go through it as if it were morning report (old lady with cough, old guy with chest pain) (only happened to me once)

and 10) do you have questions for me? you should really prepare some responses for this one, this is important if you have some things you want to clear up, and it also takes time for them to respond in case you feel like you don't have anything left to say, it also shows some interest, especially if your questions seem thought out and researched, don't spend too much time with this one though, if you have barely talked about yourself yet

11) are not supposed to ask about children/childbearing/family-specific questions unless you brought it up or it's in your application

12) adding choirboy's question, why do you want to be a doctor, it didn't happen to me but it does happen

other tips: dress appropriately, don't make stupid comments at the dinner or anywhere during your visit, don't appear uninterested or like a douche, be polite, good eye contact, don't make a joke that might backfire on you, try to make the interactions feel conversational and casual but respectful, they want to get a feeling that you will be a cool person to add to the program's roster, some people bring notepads etc but some don't, i brought frieda printouts to compare with what the chiefs or PD's said in their presentations, i also brought program specific questions in the notes so i wouldn't forget to ask, get some contact info from current residents/interns if you want more info later, talk to more than one resident/intern because everyone has different opinions, it's really hard to get a good impression of the program from a brief tour and a couple presentations but try your best to observe what goes on around you at your visit

it's normal to be nervous at your interviews, it gets a little easier as you get more done

 

[DocKSV]

here is my list as far as i remember from my interviews in no particular order, i think you should prepare answers for these
1) tell me about yourself
2) strengths and weaknesses
2b) example of one of these strengths or weaknesses and if weakness what did you learn from that event
3) why choose IM
4) why choose our program/what attracted your interest to our program
4b) do you know anyone at this program (previous/current attending/resident)
5) career goals (fellowship, general IM)
6) any past research or research interests
7) (if from far away) why choose this city/state/region, or (if close by) why stay around
8) takes a quote from letter or your statement and asks about it
9) gives you a simple case and asks you to go through it as if it were morning report (old lady with cough, old guy with chest pain) (only happened to me once)

and 10) do you have questions for me? you should really prepare some responses for this one, this is important if you have some things you want to clear up, and it also takes time for them to respond in case you feel like you don't have anything left to say, it also shows some interest, especially if your questions seem thought out and researched, don't spend too much time with this one though, if you have barely talked about yourself yet

11) are not supposed to ask about children/childbearing/family-specific questions unless you brought it up or it's in your application

other tips: dress appropriately, don't make stupid comments at the dinner or anywhere during your visit, don't appear uninterested or like a douche, be polite, good eye contact, don't make a joke that might backfire on you, try to make the interactions feel conversational and casual but respectful, they want to get a feeling that you will be a cool person to add to the program's roster, some people bring notepads etc but some don't, i brought frieda printouts to compare with what the chiefs or PD's said in their presentations, i also brought program specific questions in the notes so i wouldn't forget to ask, get some contact info from current residents/interns if you want more info later, talk to more than one resident/intern because everyone has different opinions, it's really hard to get a good impression of the program from a brief tour and a couple presentations but try your best to observe what goes on around you at your visit

it's normal to be nervous at your interviews, it gets a little easier as you get more done

Great post! This is very helpful.

 

[mossyfiber12]

@ IMdocT Really helpful! Thanks a lot 😀

 

[kryptik]

Thanks IMdocT

 

[Captopril]

Awesome, thanks IMdocT.

I must re-ask the question...how would you go about answering "tell me about yourself?". seems like a very open-ended question, and I wouldn't want to delve into the wrong aspects of my personal life.

 

[kryptik]

^ i think it generally implies the professional aspects of your life that will persuade them to hire you. Eg leadership positions you currently hold or held in the past, etc. You can of course throw in some personal details too.

 

[IMdocT]

well it is open ended, and what the interviewer is expecting is probably arbitrary from person to person. my impression was that this question is more for stuff outside of your career. all of that career stuff is already in your app, so i'm thinking they want to know about your background, and what you like to do with your liesure time. but i could be wrong, and i'm not exactly sure how to answer it. i think some of the PD's on this forum would probably have a better answer than me.

 

[oakream]

Are questions like "where do you see the field of IM going in the next 5-10 years?" common? Any suggestions on what I should read to have a clue? 😕

 

[gutonc]

Are questions like "where do you see the field of IM going in the next 5-10 years?" common? Any suggestions on what I should read to have a clue? 😕

Actually, that was a question I used when I got to interview with PDs, except I asked about the program in 2 and 5 years.

 

[choirboy]

I was asked "why did you want to become a doctor?" yesterday, it was very strange - everything I read/everyone I talked to had told me that I wouldn't be getting that question anymore since we are all going to be doctors at this point... Of course, if you can't answer that question there may be an issue, but I wanted to give the heads up.