Funny residency interview
Step into My Office by Ben Bryner
Top 10 questions I was asked at residency interviews:
10. What do you do in your spare time?
9. Tell me about your research.
8. Why do you want to be a surgeon?
7. What separates you from all the other applicants / What do you bring to the table / Why should we take you over someone else?
6. What are you looking for in a training program?
5. Do you know [some person at my home institution]?
4. If you suddenly became unable to perform any kind of surgery, what would you do instead?
3. What other programs have you interviewed at?
2. Tell me about yourself.
here it is...number one...wait for it....
1. Where do you see yourself in 10 (or 15) years?
Somewhat surprisingly, at interviews for a general surgery residency they don't usually ask you to talk about a surgical problem, or test your knowledge of arcane complications or cancer staging, or to walk them through an operation. They ask questions like the ones above to get an idea for what kind of person you are, what you want from training. By the end of the interview, they hope to have an idea of whether they would be comfortable having you manage their patients overnight. But how much do those bland questions really help the interview get to know you, the applicant? Try these on for size:
Top 10 questions I would ask applicants (with the quality being assessed in parentheses):
10. Who is your favorite recording artist? (Overall quality)
9. If you acquired a superpower, let's say flight, would you remain in the training program? Because flight wouldn't really help you be a better doctor. Would you go off and fight crime independently, or would you continue to be a resident here, and take to the air to battle evildoers post-call? (Dedication to the program)
8. What's the longest you've ever stood on your head? (Persistence and tenacity)
7. If I gave you written instructions, do you think you could field-dress a moose in less than twice the time it would take Sarah Palin to do so? (Technical skills)
6. So the other day at the inauguration, when Yitzhak Perlman and Yo-Yo Ma were performing, and it was so cold that their instruments didn't work so they decided to play prerecorded music, was that sort of like the Milli Vanilli debacle on some level? Or totally different? (Pattern recognition, pop-culture knowledge)
5. Do you golf? (Lameness, because golf is lame)
4. If I gave you a bowl of rice, an avocado, a baked eel, a piece of seaweed, a small bamboo mat and a #11 scalpel, could you make an attractive and tasty Caterpillar Roll in three minutes? (Performance under pressure, appreciation of sushi)
3. Have you ever worn hospital scrubs in a public place? (Red flag!)
2. If you were walking down a dark street, when suddenly you were surounded by a menacing gang consisting of a) a toddler with a Civil-War-era musket, b) Ernest Hemingway with two Honeybaked Hams for legs, c) a drunk grizzly bear and d) Magneto with a debiltating case of shingles, who would you fight first? (Interpersonal conflict resolution abilities, ability to prioritize)
1. How many jellybeans do you think are in this jar? (Not helpful for evaluating the applicant, just a fun contest where the winner gets a jar of jellybeans for the plane ride home!)
Top 10 questions I was asked at residency interviews:
10. What do you do in your spare time?
9. Tell me about your research.
8. Why do you want to be a surgeon?
7. What separates you from all the other applicants / What do you bring to the table / Why should we take you over someone else?
6. What are you looking for in a training program?
5. Do you know [some person at my home institution]?
4. If you suddenly became unable to perform any kind of surgery, what would you do instead?
3. What other programs have you interviewed at?
2. Tell me about yourself.
here it is...number one...wait for it....
1. Where do you see yourself in 10 (or 15) years?
Somewhat surprisingly, at interviews for a general surgery residency they don't usually ask you to talk about a surgical problem, or test your knowledge of arcane complications or cancer staging, or to walk them through an operation. They ask questions like the ones above to get an idea for what kind of person you are, what you want from training. By the end of the interview, they hope to have an idea of whether they would be comfortable having you manage their patients overnight. But how much do those bland questions really help the interview get to know you, the applicant? Try these on for size:
Top 10 questions I would ask applicants (with the quality being assessed in parentheses):
10. Who is your favorite recording artist? (Overall quality)
9. If you acquired a superpower, let's say flight, would you remain in the training program? Because flight wouldn't really help you be a better doctor. Would you go off and fight crime independently, or would you continue to be a resident here, and take to the air to battle evildoers post-call? (Dedication to the program)
8. What's the longest you've ever stood on your head? (Persistence and tenacity)
7. If I gave you written instructions, do you think you could field-dress a moose in less than twice the time it would take Sarah Palin to do so? (Technical skills)
6. So the other day at the inauguration, when Yitzhak Perlman and Yo-Yo Ma were performing, and it was so cold that their instruments didn't work so they decided to play prerecorded music, was that sort of like the Milli Vanilli debacle on some level? Or totally different? (Pattern recognition, pop-culture knowledge)
5. Do you golf? (Lameness, because golf is lame)
4. If I gave you a bowl of rice, an avocado, a baked eel, a piece of seaweed, a small bamboo mat and a #11 scalpel, could you make an attractive and tasty Caterpillar Roll in three minutes? (Performance under pressure, appreciation of sushi)
3. Have you ever worn hospital scrubs in a public place? (Red flag!)
2. If you were walking down a dark street, when suddenly you were surounded by a menacing gang consisting of a) a toddler with a Civil-War-era musket, b) Ernest Hemingway with two Honeybaked Hams for legs, c) a drunk grizzly bear and d) Magneto with a debiltating case of shingles, who would you fight first? (Interpersonal conflict resolution abilities, ability to prioritize)
1. How many jellybeans do you think are in this jar? (Not helpful for evaluating the applicant, just a fun contest where the winner gets a jar of jellybeans for the plane ride home!)