What constitutes a bad interview?

[californiaappli1]

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So I had an interview the other day that was going super well at first , until he dropped one of those surprise difficult questions. I stammered and ultimately gave a poor answer.

Does bombing one particular question = cut ?

Or are we graded on a rubric similar to med school evaluations?

 

[criznazy53]

Just curious if you are willing to provide more details on the difficult questions? what type of questions were they?

 

[gutonc]

Unless the question was "what's something nobody knows about you?" and your answer was "I have the dismembered bodies of 12 dead prostitutes in a freezer in my basement", no, 1 flubbed answer won't completely sink your app.

 

[californiaappli1]

Question about future of internal medicine with obamacare . Not exactly a difficult question , but one I was not prepared for

I probably should have done more research on that...

 

[Crayola227]

No big deal.

What's weird to me is this concern "will the rubric save me." Yes some places use a rubric, no that does not do much to offset the subjective nature of the interview.

It's important that students learn to embrace a little outside the box / checklist mentality, abandon some of the black-or-white thinking.
Do your homework. Try to be likable. Relax. Don't relax too much.

Great post from @gutonc BTW

 

[cootieshot]

Wow I've been on quite a few interviews and haven't encountered that. I probably would have stumbled a bit too.

 

[Crayola227]

LOL I did this years ago & when I googled "questions on residency interviews preparation" most of what I found suggested
to study and have something to say about current/recent important changes/trends in practice of medicine

if you haven't done it do it, in an evening you can appear like you know WTF is going on

just be careful with political stuff/controversies

I said something like, "Like many docs from a public health standpoint and a sense of altruism I think policy that promotes more preventative care and gets more people seen by their providers is a good thing if not without challenges. With the physician shortage and limited resources, stewardship of resources and EBM becomes more important and challenging than ever. Who gets seen, how much gets done, and who pays, always the shifting target. How do you think Obamacare has effected practice here?" Could lead to a discussion of the patient demographics at the hospital, public health in the area, insurances there, social support systems ancillary services etc etc.

Diplomatic answers, try to see both sides of the issue and that whatever you say on its face is a given. You don't have to turn it around to a question for the interviewer, not trying to make this an interrogation. Just ideas for how to appear informed, engaged, poking your head up, big picture, etc.

Time to poke your heads out of the med textbooks and start reading more SDN, blogs, AMA & ACP email bulletins, etc. Try to look like you get that your job is shifting from "getting the right science factoid answer" to riding on the bureaucratic **** wave that your job is about to become.

TLDR;
part of good prep for residency interview is googling what you outta google
careful with politics

 

[downthedrain]

I had a very weird interview where one of the attendings told me that he didnt think i should be applying for residency and then implied i might be a danger to patients. His basis for saying this was because I had an average Step 1, wasn't in the top 20% of my class and had done very well in research. Even weirder was this was a PSTP interview which i would imagine would value my research. He was also very douchey during the whole conversation so i didn't even try to argue with him. I just said I plan to to do both clinical medicine and research, and just gave very matter of fact answers for the rest of the interview. Suffice it to say, i pulled my pstp application the next day and switched to categorical. Definitely wouldn't want to stay there for fellowship which is unfortunate because the residency seemed very good.

 

[Cytarabine]

Unless the question was "what's something nobody knows about you?" and your answer was "I have the dismembered bodies of 12 dead prostitutes in a freezer in my basement", no, 1 flubbed answer won't completely sink your app.

So should I lie about the bodies if asked, or?

 

[Crayola227]

I had a very weird interview where one of the attendings told me that he didnt think i should be applying for residency and then implied i might be a danger to patients. His basis for saying this was because I had an average Step 1, wasn't in the top 20% of my class and had done very well in research. Even weirder was this was a PSTP interview which i would imagine would value my research. He was also very douchey during the whole conversation so i didn't even try to argue with him. I just said I plan to to do both clinical medicine and research, and just gave very matter of fact answers for the rest of the interview. Suffice it to say, i pulled my pstp application the next day and switched to categorical. Definitely wouldn't want to stay there for fellowship which is unfortunate because the residency seemed very good.

I know the old timers will say there is some red flag in your app we don't know about.

It's possible he was trying to rattle your cage. That when pushed, can you really defend why you should be in clinic and not just at the research bench? As a researcher, do you have the social skills to handle a douche? Or he was just a douche who knows LOL.

I would definitely wonder though what might be in my LORs or app that might lead an interviewer down such a pathway....

 

[PlutoBoy]

If the interview is not cut short you still have a chance

 

[copperpenny189]

What is the interviewer asks you no questions? Literally just asks if you have questions?....... I have no idea what to make of that.

 

[tantacles]

What is the interviewer asks you no questions? Literally just asks if you have questions?....... I have no idea what to make of that.

Even weirder for me was the recent interview I had where I was asked about my concerns about a residency program as the sole question. I mentioned a small concern I had and then the interviewer denied that this aspect of the program was an issue despite the fact that it is an absolutely true aspect of the program, stating that she essentially took personal offense to my concern.

Thank god that program isn't in my top 10.

 

[Laplace]

What is the interviewer asks you no questions? Literally just asks if you have questions?....... I have no idea what to make of that.

This has been the case for a lot of my interviews, not sure what to make of it

 

[downthedrain]

I know the old timers will say there is some red flag in your app we don't know about.

It's possible he was trying to rattle your cage. That when pushed, can you really defend why you should be in clinic and not just at the research bench? As a researcher, do you have the social skills to handle a douche? Or he was just a douche who knows LOL.

I would definitely wonder though what might be in my LORs or app that might lead an interviewer down such a pathway....

Definitely thought about that after I left his office. I really didn't react, other than being less conversive and chipper than I normally am. I feel like that would be a poor strategy for recruiting purposes though. If you're looking for people to stay long term and that's the front you're portraying, why would anyone want to work with you.

What is the interviewer asks you no questions? Literally just asks if you have questions?....... I have no idea what to make of that.

I've had that too. I've found that those interviewers generally either haven't really looked at your file or they are getting tired of talking to so many applicants during the interview day. All the interviewers who have done that to me also seemed a little more eccentric than the rest too, but that is probably my own observation. I don't think it really reflects their opinion of the applicants though if they arent asking questions.

 

[Thrombophlebitis]

What is the interviewer asks you no questions? Literally just asks if you have questions?....... I have no idea what to make of that.

That sums up 90% of my interviews. I honestly don't know what to make of this. Does this mean the interview is more of a formality and they are confident in my abilities based on my application?

I would really appreciate some insight here.

 

[Dave89]

Question about future of internal medicine with obamacare . Not exactly a difficult question , but one I was not prepared for

I probably should have done more research on that...

Probably not a question to which you're expected to have a particularly informed answer. There are (and have been, for years) armies of doctors and insurance company employees trying to figure this out.

Best move would probably be to waffle and be all bubbly about how "it's such an exciting time to be in medicine with all of these changes!"

 

[Beacopp665]

That sums up 90% of my interviews. I honestly don't know what to make of this. Does this mean the interview is more of a formality and they are confident in my abilities based on my application?

I would really appreciate some insight here.

I used this question as an opportunity to direct the interview to things that put me in a positive light and show interest in the program. Additionally this is a great opportunity for you to highlight past accomplishments/activities as a springboard for why whatever answers they give you make X program such a great place for you to thrive .