Zany And Wacky Interviews!

[foodcoma]

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HEY GUYS NOW THAT EVERYONE'S MATCHED (CONGRATS TO ALL!) I was hoping that we could all talk about weird interview q's that were asked during interview season, including how you answered to those questions. Let's also add where these q's were asked! Any help to a soon-to-be gas passer would be awesome. 😀

 

[supahfresh]

i posted a list of questions I was asked.

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=229671

 

[SleepIsGood]

Question Asked: Would you rather be intelligent or lucky?

 

[moonlight2000]

some prick, former IMG attending there asked me,

"What is the pO2 level of IV fluid that is connected to the patient's antecubital vein?"

I looked at him for couple seconds, laughed, and said "I don't know."

 

[brisk80]

At one interview I was handed a pencil and a piece of paper and asked to draw the pressure tracings recorded during a catheterization, including the numerical values of the high and low parameters of the RA, RV, PCW... etc. Since I just got off a rotation doing a week of cardiothoracic surgery I was somewhat able to handle the first part of the question. However, then I got bombarded with several follow up questions with clinical case scenarios with numerical examples of hemodynamic values and asked to list possible differentials with treatments........ Perhaps I should of drawn a smiley face on that piece of paper to avoid the ensuing onslaught. I did my best to answer all of the questions but the entire time I thought to myself that these are questions some residents can't answer.

 

[jennyboo]

Questions to have an answer ready for:

- What do you think of CRNAs? Tends to be asked very suddenly, with interviewers suddenly looking sneaky, at residency programs that do have CRNAs.

- If all anesthesiology residencies in the country closed down, what would you do? (i.e. If you couldn't do anesthesiology, what would you do instead?) Got asked this maybe 3 times in 12 interviews.

Questions to ask the residents:

A very useful one for me: "Why did you choose this residency program?" or "What were you looking for when selecting a residency?" In some places, all the residents give the same answer -- and this might be exactly what that particular PD / resident selection committee wants to hear.

On pimping:

Some very few old school interviewers pimp. (For me, happened at 2 of 12 residency programs.) Realize that many students get the answers wrong so don't be ashamed. Just answer as best you can with a smile and don't hedge answers (say it like you mean it).

Also, if you do get pimped during your interview, realize that there may be a friendly department hiding behind the pimp questions. Also realize that there are some "malignant" places that have very friendly interviews -- you can't tell by whether or not you get asked basic science questions.

 

[ultm8frisbee]

1.One of the PhD/MD guys at Wash U pimped me on a clinical scenario of a patient found down in the hall way of a hospital. Basic ACLS stuff.

 

[ultm8frisbee]

Anesthesiology has a history of drug abuse, have you ever thought about substance abuse in the field of anesthesiology?

 

[eagle26]

If you were any cell in the body, what kind of cell would you be and why?

 

[supahfresh]

If you were any cell in the body, what kind of cell would you be and why?

an hepatocyte!

 

[toofache32]

an hepatocyte!

Not in my body! Abused nightly.... 😱

 

[ear-ache]

Which is a better attribute: common sense or intelligence?

I also got a fair amount of personality type/job interview-ish type questions – where they place you in a hypothetical awkward or confrontational situation and ask what you would do. I.e. – Surgeon asking you to do something you don’t agree with, or co-worker that slacks, etc...

 

[Sammich81]

Question Asked: Would you rather be intelligent or lucky?

What did you say? My instinct is to say lucky, because I've heard many an attending say, "Better lucky than good." But I would follow up that up by saying, "And you can increase your chances of being lucky by being prepared."

 

[pgg]

Question Asked: Would you rather be intelligent or lucky?

Intelligent people make their own luck.

 

[Hypnomania]

I didn't really get any wacky questions but here are a couple that I felt I didn't really answer that well.
At WSU I was asked:

-Are you a leader or a follower?
I said that I'd been both in my life.

-Why should we pick you/ what have you got to offer this program that others don't?