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_/_/Interview Q & A with Tips-Collection/_/_/ - yousmle
#1
********************* INTERVIEW Q & A WITH TIPS **********************

This thread is dedicated to HELLOUSA who had done a wonderful job and given valuable advice for interview preparation.
The following questions and answers which I have organized are from a thread posted by hypersexual in Dec, 2008. (http://www.usmleforum.com/showthread.php?tid=365915)

œDon™t memorize what I am teaching you word by word. I am just giving you direction and suggestions. People who are natural and spontaneous always succeed in interviews -HELLOUSA

Good luck with your future endeavors!

*********************************************************************
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#2
********************* INTERVIEW Q & A WITH TIPS **********************

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PD-
Hello. Come on in! Have a seat. How is it going so far?

U-
Hello thank you for asking its going well everybody has been very nice and I am very impressed with the hospital.

[Sit down...say thanks and wait for them to ask.]

===============================================================

PD-
Good to hear that. ( Picks up your file). Okay, tell me about your self. Why you are here today?

U-
Well! As you know my name is Dr. U. I am a graduate of XYZ medical college. After graduation, I wanted to pursue a residency in USA so I passed all my steps with ___ scores. I moved to United States in year ____, and since then I have been working at ________ hospital as an _______. I am here today because I am interested in your program for residency. I have had some friends of mine who have done residency here and based on their feed back as well as what I have heard about your program from other sources including Dr. XYZ I have been working with, I was very keen to visit your program. I am glad I made that decision.

===============================================================

PD-
What are you applying for though?

U-
I am applying for Family Medicine.

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PD-
Why are you interested in Family Medicine?

U-
My interest in Family Medicine goes back to my medical school years. When I was doing rotations in US, I happened to get familiar with Family medicine. I knew I had an interest in it but I wanted to make sure that this is what I want to do for the rest of my life. To find a definite direction, I opted to work with a Family Physician. It was a very interesting experience as every day I got to see different aspects of this specialty. I still have very vivid memories of a man I met with (this is the time for an interesting case).. After that experience, I knew for sure that this is what I want to do and enjoy it at the same time as well. "
---------
U-

===============================================================

PD-
Interesting. What difference did you see in medical practices here as compared to your medical school?

U-
As there are geographical differences between the two areas, so the medical practices as well as disease prevalence is quite difference as well. Our hospital was one of the biggest hospital in the country with all the modern equipment. I did observe some differences though. Back home, we rely more on our diagnostic skills and as diagnostic tests are not heavily used in our setting, it was very interesting to see the role of diagnostic tests and imaging in medicine here in USA. In our system over there, medical care is not very distinguished as it is here. Physicians have a very wide scope of practice as compared to US where different teams take care of patients at different levels of care.

[Your medical school was the BEST!! Your system was as competitive as any system out there. YOU MUST PROVE THAT. You must prove that you are as competitive as rest of their American candidates.]


===============================================================

PD-
Very interesting. Tell me about something that motivates you as a physician? Something that has helped you all this time?

U-
What motivates me as a physician is that in medicine you never stop learning. and i love to keep learning. Also I will be able to practice in area of great need as the one I live in

===============================================================

PD-
What do you think are the draw backs in medical system in USA from your perspective"?

U-
I have come from a different system. I have seen some amazing advancements in US medical system. I am very impressed by the quality of research that is being done here in different field. US has a diverse patient population, now that number of immigrants is constantly increasing. Physicians here have a broader range of experience. The only draw back that I see in the system is lack of health care for all. I think we as physicians have very limited privileges to help the entire community from all socio economic levels.

===============================================================

PD-
How do you think you can be a productive member of our residency program?

U-
I can bring a hard working, honest and dedicated resident to your program who does not shy away from his responsibilities. I get along well with everyone and as a resident I have the ability to work in a team as well as on my own. I am obsessed about learning new things every moment of my life through books and my surroundings. I have a very sharp observation and that helps me make tough medical decisions if I have to. Your program has certain strengths that perfectly match with my qualifications. As it is a busy residency program with high patient load, my back ground in Medicine will help me fit in very quickly without much time needed for training. I have been living in US for a while and I am familiar with ethics and dynamics of medical practices here. Geographically your program is an area with a diverse population. My ability to communicate both in English and Spanish gives me an edge over other applicants. I am sure you have a very competitive pool of applicants, but based on my background and qualifications, I am sure I will be a very productive member of your staff.


TIPS-
[ This is your TIME when you are asked this question. This is like the final deal. What can you bring to the program. The answer should start with your strengths.

Strength 1, one word
Strength 2 , one word

After that you tell them what their program is all about.

Program quality on‌e= matches your strength
Program quality 2=matches your strength]

===============================================================

PD-
What will you change in yourself if you had a chance to do so? Any regrets in your life?

U-
I have some regrets in my life as I believe no human being is perfect. But rather than crying over it, I like to take actions to correct them as much as I can. My biggest regret is not taking my USMLE exams when the time was right. I think I was hasty about these exams, had too much over confidence in my abilities...If I could go back in time and correct something, I would have taken my usmle exams at a time when things were a little better in my life and there were not too many distractions. I did fail my exams because of my hasty decisions, but I didnot let it pull me down. I tried again with all my hard work and I passed it with ___ score. I am very proud of myself that I can bouce back after failures and my life does not stop there.

===============================================================

PD-
Why should we hire you and not some other candidate with better credentials than you?/

TIPS-
[Since PD already has asked about your strengths. So you dont have to be defensive at all.]

U-
Well, I know your program is a very good program and you will be getting many excellent candidates who will be interested to do their residency in this program. I have told you about my strengths already. If you want me to go over them again, I can do that as well. But I really cant comment on why you should hire me? I trust your experience and judgment. I am sure you will select the best candidate.

[because I am a better fit for your program. Credentials look good on paper but I am an excellent clinician and I work very well with communicating with people and along with my ability to speak English as well as Spanish it is more important in my opinion than having very high grades on the usmle. When it comes down to it a patient wants a doctor that is understanding that they feel comfortable with and this is me.]

*if he has not asked about your strengths, then the answer will be different.

===============================================================

PD-
Ok Dr. U, Tell me about an interesting case from your medical school?

U-

INDIVIDUALIZED

===============================================================

PD-
Lets say a patient comes to you during your internship and you think he should be prescribed certain medication. You discuss this with your senior resident and he disagrees. He asks you to prescribe another medication. You go back, check the literature and you find that this medication can cause arrhythmia in this patient. You go back to your senior resident and he still argues to give the patient that medication. What will be your next plan of action in this situation?

U-
Well the safety of the patient is always first so in a polite way I will say that I have just read that this drug can cause harm to this patient I think its a better idea that we do not give him this drug
------If he still insists, you will take advice from an attending. You will never be in trouble if you intend to cause no harm to the pt.

===============================================================

PD-
Do you have any questions about the program that you want to ask me?

U-
You can ask something like this.
1) How much supervision do you provide for residents in their first year?
2) How accessible is the faculty for their residents?
3) What is the best way to learn in your program?
4) What are your expectations from your residents?
5) What do your residents do usually after residency?
6) How much opportunity do we have as residents to present cases in case conferences?
7) What is your educational structure for Grand Rounds etc.,
8) Is there anything you are working on to improve your program?
9) If I am the right candidate for your program, what can I expect from now on? (Indirectly asking for prematch)
10) How much autonomy do we have to manage patients?
11) How accessible are the faculty?
12) What do you expect of your residents?
13) What do you think of these questions?

TIPS-

[1-Always prepare at least 5-6 questions that u want to ask.

2-You don™t want to ask about typical day because u already witnessed that before your interview. This is a question for lunch break

3-What if they already "KNOW ME"

Don't mention or act as if you know anything about the program already. Just add phrases like "I have seen this but I would love to ask....", "I know this happens this way but I am really interested to know.....

I have seen already that the residents enjoy independence and individuality in this program. Do you think the faculty overall believes in supervision or autonomy for the residents?"
After that, when he answers this question, you may want to jump to another question like,

You have a very competitive pool of residents here. What are your expectations from your residents generally?".
Once he answers that, you ask him,

Dr. XYZ, I have done my rotations here. I am sure you have excellent candidates willing to get into your program but out of all of them, I am the only one who has worked with you in a clinical setting. You have seen my interaction with patients and you are very well aware of my clinical skills. I want to take this opportunity to ask you very honestly, what should I expect from this point onwards?"]

===============================================================

PD-
Tell me something about yourself that your friends don™t even know?

U-
Usually my friends know pretty much every thing about me but the only thing that they might not know is that I do a lot of volunteer work. I usually dont like to talk about it but this question compels me to do so. I make sure that I spend atleast one week end in a month doing some kind of charity work in our mosque or free clinics around the city.

===============================================================

PD-
Are you sure you will be happy here you know you will be far from home and friends?

U-
My family 100% support my decision to join your program. They can visit me anytime. Infact my mom and dad/ wife and kids/ girl friend or boy friend is planning on moving with me here when I start my residency. So I have no problem making this decision.

===============================================================

PD-
Where do you see yourself in 10years?

U-
I see myself as a faculty in your program, teaching medical students and residents. I will be doing my research projects and may be do some research fellowships

===============================================================

PD-
If your chief resident is studying for his exams and make you do all the work, what you are going to do?

U-
Although I dont mind working hard and helping out my colleagues. I would love to help him out if. At the same time, I believe in open communication. So I will communicate openly with him if at any point I feel it is too much of a burden, I will let him know.

===============================================================

PD-
How do you handle conflict?

U-
I've found that when conflict occurs, it helps to fully understand the other person™s perspective, so I take time to listen to their point of view, then I seek to work out a collaborative solution.

===============================================================

PD-
[I have had my training experience in specialty a and npw interviewing for specialty b -- interviwers are grilling me on why would I want to change after years of experice in other specialty]
How one should approach this question?

U-

TIPS-

[First of all my impression would be that you either got bored, burnt out, or lost interest because either the schedule was very hectic, you did not like certain aspects of your specialty like insurance or taxes or you cant handle it any more because you dont have the same circumstances that favour that.

If you have spent a specific time in that specialty, you can just talk about the negative aspects of that specialty at the level of policies and structure. Something that makes it sound like you enjoyed it when you started but over the time, certain changes happened in the over all structure of the specialty that kind of repelled you.

You can also mention some personal situation that compels you to change specialties like kids, relation ship problems due to your hectic schedule.

If the other specialty is closely similar to the one you are leaving, you must mention something from the former list than the later. If there is a dramatic difference, you want to go for the later.]

===============================================================

PD-
˜One PD made me PD and asked to design a residency program?™

U-
Being unique is an advantage. always challenge the other person. I will design my own program making sure it makes sense!

TIPS-
[I mean depending on the situation, in USA it is always better to just disagree very diplomatically to certain questions and this sometimes impresses the interviewer that this person has an opinion of her/his own. You are not required to say Yes Sir all the time. You can be unique and different than the rest of the crowd. I will give you an example. One of the PDs I interviewed with asked me about my weaknesses. I said I am a perfectionist. He made a comment" surprisingly all the others I interviewed were also perfectionists. We have a very perfectionist pool of applicants this year". It was embarrassing. I should have rather said I think I have a lot of them but can't think of any specific one right now or I simply have none. Its always good to be different and unique with your answers. Just be honest!!!! You will never get into trouble if you are honest]

===============================================================

PD-
What are your weak points?

U-
1-I think my English was as fluent as it is required to practice in USA so I took a course recently and I feel I have improved a lot"
OR
2- I feel sometimes I give attention to too much details and that kind of slows my over all performance but I try to prioritize my work now paying attention to most important to least important that helps me finish my task more productively".

TIPS-
[What they want to know is what is your weak point and what you are doing to correct it.]

===============================================================

PD-
What errors have you made in patient care?

U-
I believe medicine involves learning through out one's professional life and learning through my mistakes is what I believe in. Although I have not made any error that has caused any harm to any of my patients but I remember one incidence when I forgot to page my attending during my medicine rotation and tried to make decisions on my own. I was over enthusiastic when I was a medical student and had over confidence in my knowledge and ability. Never the less, I learnt through my error and now I realize that every procedure should have a structured protocol. In a hospital setting, documentation and proper relay of information through the chain of supervision is essential for proper patient care. I am glad I learnt it the hard way!!

===============================================================

PD-
What is the greatest fear about practicing medicine?

U-
My biggest fear in practicing Medicine is emotional attachment with my patients. As medical students we are taught persistently to be somewhat insensitive to make tough medical decisions. I come from a different culture. Our culture is based on emotions and sensitivity. I find it hard not to relate to my patient's pain and suffering. I feel this is my weakness and I must work on it to be a better physician in the real world."

===============================================================

PD-
Biggest failures in life and what have you done to ensure that they won™t happen again?

U-
Failures are small obstacles that help us move in the direction of our success. I have had many moments when I didn™t achieve what I intended to do but I don™t regret those moments for once. For me, my biggest failure has been my inability to perform well on the USMLE exams. Having said that, if I look back at my life, I feel this failure has made me stronger and even more motivated to do everything possible to get decent USCE and work hard to overcome this obstacle.( I will mention my USCE in detail here). If I had not failed in getting good scores in the first step, I had not learnt the meaning of working hard for my goal that ultimately is to get into your program. I am not at all embarrassed or ashamed of my scores. I would rather like to look at where I am right now and what I have achieved after that."

===============================================================

PD-
What were the major deficiencies in your medical school training? How would you plan to remedy this?

U-
I have graduated from the top Medical school in my country. If you look through the rank list from my country, you can verify this information. I don't think my school had any deficiencies in their teaching or what so ever. The only difference might be the that it is not USA so the diseases prevalent in that part might be different. We were taught everything in English. To get myself familiar with the medical system in USA, I have done so and so(talk about your USCE). I find myself very confident about my medical knowledge and my USCE has overcome any deficiencies that I may have being a foreign medical graduate. (Remember your school is the best!!!!!)

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PD-
How should you explain the gap in your CV?

U-
I completely agree that there are certain periods when I was not doing anything significant in my professional life but I have an explanation for that and I am sure you are interested to know about that. (You explain whatever the reason was. A personal reason always works best. A family member's illness, change of location, health reasons). Try to be honest about this question because honesty here will bring substance to your answer. I have answered very honestly during my interviews" I didn™t get any opportunity but as soon as I got one, I grabbed it and now I am working at such and such hospital."

===============================================================

œI hope it helps all of us as this has helped me a lot. Always be your self. You will kill your chances if at any point the interviewer feels you are just repeating memorized lines. Be natural, spontaneous and very very attentive. Its always good to take your time to answer a question. Good luck everyone. Just be confident and nail it.-HELLOUSA
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#3
Cool, this is a GREAT post. Thanks yousmle for bringing this to attention, and thanks HelloUSA for the nice compilation. It is of great help!.
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#4
oh wow thank you yousmle
you are awesome
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#5
great idea!
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#6
THNX
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#7
What a great post!

Thank you so much!
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#8
This is really a great post...
ThanQ so much...
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#9
great post really.....
thanx for helping everybody out!
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#10
This is a great post!! thanks yousmle and hellousa for the good work ...
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