It’s time to start interview prep. Here is the 1st post for the season 2019-20!
WHICH QUESTIONS ARE ASKED MOST COMMONLY? IS THERE A LIST FOR ALL THE QUESTIONS ASKED IN GENERAL?
Here is the list of questions arranged in the likelihood of being asked!
- SINGLE MOST PAINFULLY COMMON QUESTION ON THE TRAIL:
What questions do you have for me?
- EVERY SINGLE TIME->Prepare these 1st!
What’s your story? Tell me about yourself
What kind of things do you like to do for fun?
Tell me about [random thing on your CV]
Ten years from now, what do you see yourself doing?
How did you become interested in medicine/psychiatry/pediatrics/fm/surgery? When and how did you decide to become a [blank]
What are you looking forward to the most in residency? The least?
Most memorable patient?
Why this program? What are you looking in a program (cue list of program’s description) What fellowship do you want to do? Why? Greatest weakness? (This has become way more common than greatest strength!)
- BRAIN-BUSTERS (TIME FOR SOME BS):
What has been your biggest disappointment in medicine?
How do you think the changes in health care policy will affect you in the future?
Describe a disappointing event in your life and how you coped with it?
What did you find hard during medical school?
What would you say is your greatest strength?
Tell me about a time when you made a choice that ended with a good result.
Tell me about a time when you made a choice that ended with a bad result.
What accomplishment are you most proud of that’s non-academic?
When you look back at your career, how will you be able to tell if you were successful?
What person have you met in medical school who has inspired you?
What do you want me to know about you that didn’t fit in your application?
Tell me about a situation in which you have had to work with someone you didn’t like. How did you handle it?
Tell me about an ethical dilemma you experienced as medical student.
What do you think we should look for in our applicants? (I think this is actually a really good question)
Tell me about your best and worst residents.
What do you think is the biggest health issue in America today?
What do you want me to remember about you at the end of this interview?
How would your best friend describe you?
Describe your ideal day.
Tell me about a time someone on your team was not pulling their own weight?
If you were chief resident on a service and one of your interns forgot to or just didn’t place an order which compromised patient care, how would you handle the situation with the faculty who expects the order to be completed, and how would you address the intern?
- EXTREMELY NARROW:
If you could have dinner with any 3 cardiothoracic surgeons/insert random celebrity, dead or alive, who would they be and what are their greatest contributions to the field?
How do you know that you have the hand skills to be a good surgeon/physician/psychiatrist? ICU/Emergency is a very busy service. How are you sure you can handle it?
Who is Brad Pitt/insert random celebrity?
- AWKWARD OR OBNOXIOUS OR BOTH:
What is your class rank?
Tell me about medicine in your country.
What is something unique about you that will help me remember you amongst the other applicants?
Can you explain any small problems on your application that could bring you down on our rank list so that I can explain it to the committee?
Tell me your impression of this program
Are you ready to move away from [X]? (clearly entertaining the idea…)
What is one thing you do not like about this city based on what you know? (city was not Baltimore, haters)
What are the CXR findings in heart failure?
Tell me you how you work up a GI bleeder/patient presenting with dementia etc. (Community program attending like tp play around with such questions!)
Describe the technique for putting in an arterial line.
Tell me how you would work someone up for chest pain.
A colectomy patient becomes tachycardic the night after the operation. All other vitals are normal. What is your immediate workup and differential?
You are interested in [X] research. We don’t have any active projects like that. What are your research plans if you come here?
What do you plan to do with your MPH? (nothing of course, I just like collecting degrees!)
- UNAPOLOGETIC MATCH VIOLATIONS:
I have been asked all of these and answered them diplomatically. Never said no.
Where you going to rank us?
Tell me what you thought about program X.
Would you really come here?
Which other places have you interviewed at or are you going to interview?
A few female friends from India were asked:
Why are you wasting your parent’s hard earned money?
You are a spoilt brat. Aren’t you?
You should have been married early so that you don’t come to US! You are not married?
Your parent’s have failed you. They should have gotten you married when you were born.
You will NEVER EVER match. Not this match. Not next match! Never!! Don’t bother applying.
You look like a patient in mania. Do you want to be a psychiatrist or need one?
These last few questions are meant to throw you off. They are almost never asked but when asked can possibly make you cry. They are testing how much can you take. Don’t get thrown off. Don’t get angry. Stay calm and confident and don’t let them rattle you. Go from 1 to 6 sequentially. Answer every question, first without preparing and then after preparing using all possible resources that you know. Then you will know the difference that preparation makes! Hope this helps! Good luck 
All the best