Although the following information is meant to prepare students for in-person interviews, much of it still applies to virtual ones. Please read Virtual Residency Interviews in the Time of COVID-19 for tips and tricks on how to navigate this new interview format.
The interview is perhaps the most anxiety-provoking aspect of the residency application process, but possibly the most important. It serves as a means for a program to find out about you and whether they believe you would be a good fit into their residency. However, and perhaps more importantly, it is an essential way for you to get to know a program, its strengths and weaknesses, and culture, and whether it is a place you feel would be the best ‘match’ to spend (at least) the next three years of your life.
Although interview day schedules vary somewhat between institutions, there are several activities that are common to most. Some programs offer pre- (or post-) interview dinners or other social activities with residents intended to provide an opportunity to interact with current housestaff outside of the formal interview process. The actual interview day typically begins with an orientation to the institution and residency, with discussion of the educational program and more practical matters such as salary, benefits, and support services. A tour of patient care and educational areas where you would be training and learning is almost always included.
Some programs provide an opportunity to participate on rounds with an inpatient team or with residents in an ambulatory clinic. Most programs offer between two to five interviews with staff, residents, or both. Finally, there is usually an exit interview at the end of the interview day with someone from the program leadership (such as the program director, an associate program director, or chief resident). Interview days tend to be long and exhausting, particularly if travel to and from the program is distant and you participate in any pre- or post-interview activities; this needs to be considered when planning your interview schedule.
Although many applicants do not look forward to residency interviews, remember that much of what you get out of your interviews depends on your attitude toward the process and what you seek to accomplish through the experience. Remember that the interview process is the one (and possibly the only) opportunity you have to actually see and experience what a program is like – important information for making a major life decision!
You should be prepared - interviewers may pick something on your curriculum vitae (i.e. extra-curricular activities, work experiences, research project, etc.), personal statement, ERAS application, etc. to ask you about. Remember what you wrote; review these documents prior to interviewing so you are not caught off guard by these questions.