So you have made it to the residency interview. Congrats! The interview is going well and you have said everything to the interviewer that you planned you say. As the interview comes to an end, the interviewer then throws "Do you have any questions for me?" at you. How should you tackle this question - should you choose to be modest and not trouble the interviewer or is this another opportunity to shine at the interview? Read on.
On the surface level, 'Do you have any questions for me?' seems a a very benign question. In my opinion, the interviewer is giving you yet another chance for you to show your interest in the program and your critical thinking skills.
Before you go for any residency interview you have a lot of information accessible to you through the programs website, emails sent to you by the program coordinator, YouTube, twitter, PubMed, local information about the town, climate, jobs, schools, safety and so on. So while you don't want your questions to be redundant and boring, asking the right questions can demonstrate your interest in the program and commitment to excel in your career.
In my online practice interviews at Ed4MedUs.com (schedule your practice interview here), these are some questions that applicants have practiced asking me (and I would like to be asked) as an interviewer.
General questions:
The best questions in my opinion are in the form of “I read on your program's website that your program does such-and-such – could you tell me more about that?” Again, this shows that you're interested in the program and have taken the pain and effort to review the program website or materials.
It is nice to ask the program director as to "what major (or significant) change are you anticipating in the next few years?". Here you could also ask about any changes in the teaching methods or research opportunities that may become available in the near future. But do remember that some of these changes may not happen during your time in residency, so take this with a grain of salt.
Teaching:
"What are the teaching conferences that I will be attending (or participating) in?". This question may be partly answered during the morning introduction to the program by the chief resident (or the program director). "How frequent are the morning report and noon conferences?" - these are the traditional bread-and-butter teaching styles in any residency. However, lately there has been a lot of debate on the educational value of these conferences as residents usually get paged by the nurses and honestly because of our rapidly declining attention span. Some programs have chosen to have academic half days where the residents have protected learning time and are not to be disturbed during these conferences. If the program that you're interviewing at does not have academic half days, ask the program director if they are considering this in the future. Or if they do have academic half days that they started very recently, asking them a question such as "I noticed that the academic half days were just started last year. How is that working out for the residents and are you planning to continue it or make any enhancements?"
Other teaching activities include sub-specialty rounds, grand rounds and M&M (mortality and morbidity) rounds. See if the program is engaged in any of these teaching activities. A schedule of teaching conferences is usually handed out to every applicant and does not need to be asked to every interviewer, especially a sub-specialist consultant. Make sure you are fully aware of all the learning opportunities as well as your teaching responsibilities as you certainly will be asked to present cases at morning report or a paper at journal club.
If not answered already, ask the interviewer "I have an interest in teaching medical students. Would I have opportunities to do so?" This can be a very enriching experience and is great for your resume if you're considering an academic career. Some residents volunteer in an adjoining medical school to facilitate small group sessions. If you have a flair for teaching, go ahead and make sure your interviewer knows about it.
Research opportunities
"What research projects have residents completed?".
"What research opportunities are available?".
"Is there a research rotation or protected time for research?" "If so, how many weeks is that?"
"Are there specific faculty members to guide research planning and work during residency?" Every residency program needs to have every graduating resident complete a 'scholarly activity'. This can range from a poster presentation all the way up to a manuscript publication. A resident may choose between an actual research study or a quality improvement project. But to do any of these research activities require a huge investment of time and effort by the resident and commitment by the teaching faculty.
"What are the resources for research or scholarly activity available in the institution?" Some University programs have a Teaching Academy that serves as a formal resource where you can become a protege under a research mentor who guides you through various stages of research such as coming up with a research question, applying to IRB, data collection and analysis, completing the study and presenting the data. You need to realize that you have limited time in residency so please only choose projects that are feasible. PubMed is an excellent resource for all research publications that came out from the institution where you are interviewing. If you are considering an academic or a research career after residency, make sure that the program where you are interviewing can make you a great doctor and also an excellent researcher. Make sure you are aware of this before the end of the interview day.
Before you go: Here's your golden opportunity to have your voice heard! Write down your ONE question regarding your US residency program application, personal statement, interviews or anything that has been bothering you and keeping you up at night. You can reply at the end of this blog or post a message at my Facebook page.
The top 10 popular questions will be featured on my next blog posts at https://ed4medllc.blogspot.com/ and the winners will receive a coupon each for a FREE practice interview at Ed4medus.com ! Put those thinking caps on and hurry up!
Photo credit for image on top of blog post: https://maria.gorlatova.com/2015/02/pm-job-candidates-please-ask-questions-in-your-job-interviews/
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