I interviewed at 16 programs across the country. I received a wide gambit of interview questions, some of which I heard at nearly every institution and others that were only asked once. My aim is to compile a listing of questions I heard on the interview trail in one location and provide links to tips on answering those questions to aid your preparations.
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The Classics
- Tell me about yourself.
- Why this specialty? (Start Here)
- How did you become interested in medicine?
- What is your greatest strength?
- What is your biggest weakness?
- Tell me about a time you were on a team and there was conflict.
- Tell me about your research experience.
- What questions do you have for us?
- What qualities make for a good resident in your opinion? Which of those do you need the most work on?
- What are your plans after residency?
- Where do you envision yourself 10-15 years from now?
- Describe a mistake you have made.
- What are you most proud of?
- How do you handle criticism?
Program Specific Questions
- Why are you interested in this program?
- What are you looking for in a residency program?
- Why didn’t you do an away rotation here?
- Why should we choose you over all the other applicants?
- How did you choose the programs you rotated at?
Clinical Questions
- What has been the most interesting case you have seen?
- Describe a challenging patient that you have cared for.
- How much time have you spent in (insert specialty)?
- What are the biggest challenges facing our specialty today?
- What would you do if you couldn’t work in medicine?
- What subspecialty of (insert field) do you want pursue?
Specific CV Questions
- In your personal statement, you mentioned _____. Tell me more about that.
- What is the biggest flaw on your CV?
- What is your Step 1 score?
- Your Step 1 score is low. Why?
- Why haven’t you taken Step 2? What are your Step 2 scores?
- Why did you not make honors on a clerkship?
- Tell me about this specific research project.
- Why did you choose your medical school?
- I don’t believe you have done this much research.
Getting to Know You
- What do you do for fun?
- Tell me about _____(insert hobby that is listed on your ERAS application).
- What was the last movie you watched?
- What books are you reading for fun?
- How do you handle stress?
- Would you actually leave (insert geographic area where you have lived) to come (insert geographic area of the program)?
- If you could invite anyone, who would be your three guests to have a meal with?
- Who has been the most influential person to in your life?
- Who do you look to for advice?
- What do your parents do?
- What are three words that describe you?
- How would a friend describe you in one word?
Random, but Memorable
- Teach me something I don’t know in 2 minutes.
- Here is the form we use to evaluate applicants. Fill it out for me and explain why you are scoring yourself the way you are.
- What is your favorite type of music? (Attending paused the interview and typed my answer into Pandora Radio and played it as background music throughout the remainder of the interview)
- Here is a piece of paper. I am going to read you these instructions. Pay attention. I will not repeat them. Once I am done, complete the task. Do not say a word until you are done. (Proceeds to read a 3 minute description of folding, unfolding, spinning, rotating the sheet of paper).
- Can you name an ____(insert name of city of program) music artist?
- What case in plastic surgery do you think you could do alone, start to finish?
- You are in the operating room, doing a ventral hernia repair. You accidentally dissect too deep and you have major bleeding. What do you do?
- Are you an introvert or extrovert?
- Do you have an Instagram account?
- What do you think about social media usage and plastic surgery?
- So you are fluent in Spanish? Let’s conduct this interview in Spanish.
- Compare and contrast the business strategies of Bezos, Buffet, and Gates.
Questionable Questions
- Are you married?
- What are your top 3 programs right now?
- Other than this program, what are your top 3 programs right now?
- What would it take to convince you to come here?
What other questions have you heard? Do you need more help answering a specific question? Comment below or contact us directly.
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