For more useful medical school and residency interview tips, check out my latest Varsity Tutors guest blog here.
Blog Archives
Medical School and Residency Interview Social Events: Dine but Don’t Whine
In an effort to attract desirable applicants, some medical schools and residency programs invite candidates to social events immediately before or during the interview day. The events usually include dinner, lunch, or even drinks with the students or residents.
It’s in your interest to attend these events: They show institutions that you are serious about their programs, afford you the opportunity to score social points, and allow you to gain valuable information about the students’ or residents’ satisfaction.
One insider piece of advice, however: Ensure you act professionally even if you are told that what you say will not affect your candidacy or get back to admissions. Even if everyone has good intentions, information garnered from these events can make its way to decision-makers. If you had a bad experience at the interview day, have a significant other who doesn’t want to move, or know your first choice is a different program, these social events are not the time to reveal that information.
For insider help with medical school or residency interviews, contact me.
Power Positioning
I have gotten such good feedback about my blog “How Amy Cuddy Can Help You” that I thought I would post the TED talk that Professor Cuddy gave: “Your Body Language Shapes Who You Are.” I’ve forwarded this link to a few of my clients to help them prepare – physically – for their medical school and residency interviews. The talk is both entertaining and moving. Enjoy!
Do Interviews Matter?
There’s an interesting NYT’s article from this past week called “Do College Admissions Interviews Matter?” Although the article makes a convincing argument that undergraduate interviews may not matter in many cases, it does point out that many graduate school interviews do. It also recommends doing mock interviews.
The NRMP Program Directors’ Survey makes it quite clear that residency interviews matter a lot, which was also my experience as Assistant Residency Director at Harvard. I remember very robust conversations about even small comments that candidates had made in their interviews that adversely affected their ranking on our Match list.
The Medical Residency Interview: What if You Haven’t Received an Invitation?
Once your ERAS has been submitted, getting into residency kicks into high gear with the interview season. But what if you’ve completed your residency application and yet haven’t been invited to interview?
First of all, realize that residency admissions have become increasingly competitive of late. This is especially true for “lifestyle” specialties like Radiology, Opthalmology, Anesthesia and Dermatology (often termed the “ROAD”). The number of applicants in those fields and others is generally increasing, as the number of medical students continues to increase. Thus, the lack of an invite may just represent overloaded admissions offices. Read more ›
Dr. Finkel is a graduate of Stanford University and Harvard Medical School. On completing her residency at Harvard, she was asked to stay on as faculty at Harvard Medical School and spent five years teaching at the world-renowned Massachusetts General Hospital. She was appointed to the Assistant Residency Director position for the Harvard Affiliated Emergency Medicine Residency where she reviewed countless applications, personal statements and resumes. Read more
As featured in:
Student Doctor Network: Choosing a Medical School? Why Your Situation Matters
KevinMD: Made Mistakes? How to Spin Them for Your Medical School Applications
Doximity Op-Med: The Medical School Admissions Process Is Falling Short
Listen to Dr. Finkel’s interview on The Visible Voices podcast:
Listen to Dr. Finkel’s interview on the White Coat Investor podcast:
Listen to Dr. Finkel’s interview on the FeminEm podcast: