The Interview Trail Awards!

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.

Universe_Explorer

Junior Member
10+ Year Member
7+ Year Member
15+ Year Member
Joined
Aug 8, 2005
Messages
187
Reaction score
1
There are many things I noticed while interviewing that will make almost no impact at all on my ROL, but were interesting to me nonetheless - so just for fun, some awards/superlatives for my interview season…

ED so nice you could eat off of the floor: Adult (tie) TGH and North Shore – so clean and modern and glassy, Children's (tie) CHOP and Arnold Palmer (ORMC) – like above, but with adorable kid-sized stuff

Funniest interview questions/experiences: One of my interviewers actually turned to his computer and looked up my wife on IMDb during our interview.

Best interview day food: I was partial to the restaurants (Pitt, TJU, TGH), but NYU and NY Presby had solid spreads

Longest interview day: SLR, NY Presby, and Mt Sinai (tie) – all three have 2 major sites that can be an hour apart, add the time there and time back to each interview and it's a long day.

Hardest interview to cancel: (tie) Harbor, University of Chicago, and UC Irvine. I had very high hopes for all three, but distance from our support system eventually made them impossible for us to consider.

Best pre/post interview get together: ORMC, Pitt and Penn – good beer, good food, and good times at all three, which were laid back and felt more like a night out with friends than part of an interview.

Interview most likely to make me feel like a little kid meeting his baseball hero: Hopkins (Dr. Kelen) and Bellevue (Dr. Goldfrank). Getting to talk one-on-one with these guys was worth the price of admission for me.

Funniest spot I was interviewed: In a patient's room in an ED expansion that was still under construction. I don't know whether it was my impulse to get up and sit on the bed, or the construction workers sanding the desks around us, but it was a strange place to be interviewed.

Best interview perk: I didn't go to any of those places that hook you up with a free room, so mine would have to be catching a ride in the physician response jeep to eat lunch on Mt Washington overlooking the Pittsburgh skyline. Sweet idea from the Pitt folks.

Oddest moments: Playing charades with the other interviewees during down time at North Shore, The PD's power-point at Hopkins (something about decision trees and the circle of life), and an interviewer who told me all about his divorce for some reason.

Most amusing pre-interview trail moment: Going to a pre-interview event and standing outside of the bar checking to see if I was in the right place, only to have a gentleman in a suit stagger out of the door, look at me, vomit all over his shoes, turn around and go back in. Unfortunately, he was not one of the interviewees.

Best attempt to make a location look better than it is:
Hopkins (disclaimer: I actually like Baltimore) – they drove us in a wide circle past the three nicest neighborhoods in the city and gunned it down the street past the ghetto to the hospital.

Best Hospital to film a Corona commercial: Tampa General – sits on an island in bay, with views of blue-green water, palms trees, and a pirate ship

Hospital most like a museum: Cornell (although I've heard Mayo takes the cake for this) – has more busts and plaques than The Met!

Coolest hospital addition, non-EM related: (tie) I.M. Pei's glass atrium at Bellevue, the atrium/addition to University of Maryland, and the waterfall entrance to Winnie Palmer Hospital for Women and Babies (ORMC)

Best view: Cornell and NYU MICUs (East river and city views), TGH ED (bay and Tampa skyline views). Also kudos to the Penn tour guide who took us to the heli-pad for a sick view of Philly, and the ORMC guide who took us to a balcony off of the hospital with views of Orlando and the lakes

Hospital you are most likely to get mugged walking away from: Hopkins – although this is bound to change soon enough

Hospital you are most like to get run over by a soccer mom walking away from: Christiana

Most likely place to walk past one of your regulars finishing a 40oz in front of the hospital on your way into a 7am shift: Bellevue

Funniest SDN-related moment: I found it amusing anytime I recognized someone, but my funniest moment was listening to a couple attendings at TGH talking about how Quinn was coming for grand rounds the next day, and me saying, "Really?", and them saying, "Do you know him?", and me realizing, well, no – not really, but I've read a lot of his posts!

Biggest surprise: The fact that two different PD's told me their program doesn't do much basic science because the chairman is opposed to animal research

Most aptly named ED pets: A couple of fish at the nursing station at Bellevue, named "5" and "2"

Most unique residency selling point: Jeep experience at UPMC – I'm not completely sold on its educational value, but I'm totally sold on how cool it is.

Favorite residency coordinator: Nancy Kenny, WHC/Georgetown – she was very funny, and Nina Van Cleave, University of Maryland – she made us homemade cookies!

Place everyone raved about on the trail that I didn't apply to: King's County and Maine Medical Center

Best rumor on the trail that was true: EKG reading at USF interview, the automatic frosting windows at North Shore, the slushy machine in the CHOP ED

Best rumor on the trail that was false: Interviews would be stressful (I had fun at all of mine), programs are all basically the same (I found them to be vastly different – but in great ways)

Obviously I only saw a handful of places, anyone else have awards to add?

Members don't see this ad.
 
My nominations for random awards:


award to best city tour: hopkins bus tour of baltimore with attending.

award to most senseless intro for interview day: The 45 minute intro on the history of the merger of Cornell and Columbia hospitals. halfway into it, i'm like: why couldn't you just say the residency program draws from the strength of 2 great places. why the blow by fiscal blow?

award for shortest/no intro on the trail: Harbor.....what was up with the presentation of the program at the very end....when the PD steps out and it's just us applicants watching this powerpoint.

Award for most random late night snack CHOP---slurpee machines.
 
My nominations for random awards:

award to most senseless intro for interview day: The 45 minute intro on the history of the merger of Cornell and Columbia hospitals. halfway into it, i'm like: why couldn't you just say the residency program draws from the strength of 2 great places. why the blow by fiscal blow?

award for shortest/no intro on the trail: Harbor.....what was up with the presentation of the program at the very end....when the PD steps out and it's just us applicants watching this powerpoint.


:lol::thumbup: absolutely!
 
Members don't see this ad :)
Best attempt to make a location look better than it is:[/B] Hopkins (disclaimer: I actually like Baltimore) – they drove us in a wide circle past the three nicest neighborhoods in the city and gunned it down the street past the ghetto to the hospital.

it takes a lot to make me actually laugh out loud, but this definitely did it
i'm not too familiar w/baltimore but this tour was rather odd, i kept wondering if they were trying to hide something. i'm so confused about hopkins overall ::sigh::
 
Funniest interview questions/experiences: One of my interviewers actually turned to his computer and looked up my wife on IMDb during our interview.

:lol: Never knew a spouse would be taken into consideration in an interview...
 
Funniest interview questions/experiences: One of my interviewers actually turned to his computer and looked up my wife on IMDb during our interview.
Funniest spot I was interviewed: In a patient’s room in an ED expansion that was still under construction. I don’t know whether it was my impulse to get up and sit on the bed, or the construction workers sanding the desks around us, but it was a strange place to be interviewed.


I heard through a friend that he and another interviewee stayed after, hung out in the ED and put a chest tube in a guy while dressed in their interview suites. Wicked!
 
Funniest SDN-related moment: I found it amusing anytime I recognized someone, but my funniest moment was listening to a couple attendings at TGH talking about how Quinn was coming for grand rounds the next day, and me saying, “Really?”, and them saying, “Do you know him?”, and me realizing, well, no – not really, but I’ve read a lot of his posts!

Favorite residency coordinator: Nancy Kenny, WHC/Georgetown – she was very funny, and Nina Van Cleave, University of Maryland – she made us homemade cookies!

You mean, you had TWO chances to meet me in person, down at my alma mater when i lectured to them for GR, and then at my home institution where I currenlty work and you didnt' stop by?!?!?!?! HMPF! j/k.

Q
 
You mean, you had TWO chances to meet me in person, down at my alma mater when i lectured to them for GR, and then at my home institution where I currenlty work and you didnt' stop by?!?!?!?! HMPF! j/k.

Q

I was at your alma matter and asked about you!! Apparently the residents get asked about you all the time when applicants come. I was so sad when I didn't get to see you in person, it was like coming a breath away from one of my heros and then having all of my hopes and aspirations shattered!

I was devastated.
 
I was at your alma matter and asked about you!! Apparently the residents get asked about you all the time when applicants come. I was so sad when I didn't get to see you in person, it was like coming a breath away from one of my heros and then having all of my hopes and aspirations shattered!

I was devastated.

When the "Pimp Protector" movie comes out, I can have you as "ER Intern 6" for "Love Scene #3."

Q
 
When the "Pimp Protector" movie comes out, I can have you as "ER Intern 6" for "Love Scene #3."

Q

I would be honored. Thank you.

I'm going to go practice getting my pimp on.
 
You mean, you had TWO chances to meet me in person, down at my alma mater when i lectured to them for GR, and then at my home institution where I currenlty work and you didnt' stop by?!?!?!?! HMPF! j/k.

Q

Ha! Missed you by one day in Tampa (I was leaving town), and was told you weren't working when I was at Georgetown...When "Pimp Protector: The Movie" comes out, I'd like to be the comic relief (I'm assuming it's a drama?)
 
Best interview day food: UT Southwestern. Buffet style with salad bar, freshly cut steaks, tons of deserts to choose from. MMMMM!

Best pre-interview social: The brewery at Vandy. I knew it was gonna be great when they told us to order whatever we wanted off the menu. And then when the residents made us order desert. :D

Best interview perk: The free 2 night hotel stay at Cincy. Plus the free tickets to the aquarium.

Fun interview trail rental car moment: Learning how to parallel park in downtown Chicago. Got it on my first try! Then trying the same thing in San Fran on a hill on the left side of the one-way street. Failed horribly. :(

Best view: The neuro ICU at UCSF. You could see across the bay and had a great view of the Golden Gate bridge. :thumbup:

Most dangerous area: Sinai-Grace in Detroit. Lock the doors and run the red lights at night!

Best Weather: Dallas in early December. It was in the 80s! :thumbup:

Worst Weather: Chicago in December. Negative wind chill factors suck. :thumbdown:

Best uniforms: The flight suits at Cincy. They look like they stepped out of Top Gun. Go Maverick!

Worst traffic: Tie between Chicago and San Fran.

Best Journal Club: Indiana. Great food, great turnout by residents, fun attendings, and I learned something too!

Funnest Residents: Cincy. They seem to get along great and have a good time together outside of work. Had a blast at the pre-interview social with them.

Nicest ED: Vandy Children's Hospital. Very colorful and spacious. I loved the train in the lobby.
 
You mean, you had TWO chances to meet me in person, down at my alma mater when i lectured to them for GR, and then at my home institution where I currenlty work and you didnt' stop by?!?!?!?! HMPF! j/k.

Q

Nobody asks about me. At least they ask about you. :(
 
Members don't see this ad :)
Whaaaaaaaaaaat. and you didn't say anything. *pout*
 
were you the research fellow. still living in the subs housing, glasses, etc? i wondered if that might be you, but i would have felt dumb and stalkerish being like ummm are you roja from sdn? cost/benefit of looking like a giant weirdo, plus the good chance it wasn't you made me just not say anything : )
 
aww i wish i'd said hi now!
 
Me too! Of course, I am in disguise because I went nuts and colored my hair a really dark reddish brown. :D However, my tag usually gives me away.
 
No one else has any more awards to give out? I was hoping to hear more funny stories from the trail...
 
One interview cancelled the dinner but didn't bother to tell me or answer the phones listed in the email to call. Ate at the hotel bar.
 
I said "hi". We were on the Jitney and you looked preoccupied, so I didn't want to be a pest. :)

Yes, I remember that day. I had worked an overnight and was heading up on the jitney for a meeting and then a final. I was D.E.A.D. I try and avoid interviees when I feel that way so I don't give a bad impression!:cool:
 
Yes, I remember that day. I had worked an overnight and was heading up on the jitney for a meeting and then a final. I was D.E.A.D. I try and avoid interviees when I feel that way so I don't give a bad impression!:cool:

No worries, I have a very favorable impression of your program!
 
Top