AAMC SAMPLE INTERVIEW QUESTIONS
SAMPLE INTERVIEW QUESTIONS FOR PROGRAM DIRECTORS
ABOUT THE PROGRAM
THE FUTURE OF THE PROGRAM
CONTINUING EDUCATION
CULTURE
QUESTIONS TO ASK ABOUT CURRENT RESIDENTS
SAMPLE INTERVIEW QUESTIONS FOR RESIDENTS
QUESTIONS YOU
NEED TO BE PREPARED TO ANSWER
Be
prepared to respond to variations on the themes of the questions listed below.
Review the questions listed in the next section "From the Program Director's
Perspective" as well. There may well be standard questions for your specialty.
Find out what these questions are in advance by talking to your advisor or first
year residents in your chosen field of specialty. Again, be prepared.
THE INTERVIEW PROCESS FROM
THE PROGRAM DIRECTORS PERSPECTIVE
Program Directors are as concerned about the interview process as you are. Listed
below are a list of skills and sample questions to evaluate these skills edited
from a Handbook for Interviewing Surgery Resident Applicants by Janine Edwards
(1991) which illustrates how you will be scrutinized from the other side of
the interview process.
Communication Skills
Eye contact, pronunciation, facial gestures, hand and body movements, nervous
habits, flow of sentences.
Sample
Questions:
Describe for me some work experiences in which you have had to work closely
with other people. What difficulties did you have while working with these people?
How did you resolve those difficulties? What are some of the most difficult
decisions you have ever had to make? What are some issues presently confronting
the medical profession? Elaborate on one of those issues. Describe your relationship
with your friends. What do you do together? How would they describe you? What
types of jobs have you had that involved interaction with people? What types
of criticism upset you? Explain a problem situation in which you've needed assistance.
How have you gone about finding and utilizing this assistance?
Reliability
Check letters of recommendation and call for reference. A close examination
of the applicant's senior year electives can clue you into the individual's
level of conscientiousness.
Sample Questions.
Tell me about your on-call experiences. Ask the applicant to go into some detail.
(How many days were you on call? Whom did you report to?) Let's talk about your
patient care responsibility on the Internal Medicine clerkship. How many patients
were assigned to you? Did you develop treatment plans? How often were you on
call? Did you have a hard time keeping up with all of your patients?
Organization Skills
As a medical student, how did you organize your patients on your various clinical
rotations? What do you consider the most important things to be taken care of
each day? How should work be divided among the house staff? Do you ever make
"Things to Do" lists? What things do you put on your list?
Compassion
Sample Questions We work in an inner-city hospital dealing with a large
number of minorities, indigent patients, and trauma victims of crimes. How do
you feel about that? Are there any types of patients you don't like to take
care of? If so, why? Would you share with me a situation where you identified
with someone who was ill or hurting? Have you ever had an experience with a
physician who did not demonstrate sensitivity. How did you feel? What in your
experience do feel has helped you relate to individuals who needed help?
Integrity
Check letters of recommendation and call for references. Develop a question
for two interviewers to ask the same applicant. Make a slight variation in the
question so that it sounds slightly different, yet should yield the same answer.
Notice to see if there is any discrepancy between the two answers given by the
applicant to the interviewers. Sample Questions
How would you deal with a fellow student who was cheating? Present a variety
of medical scenarios for comment.
Motivation
Sample Questions Why Surgery? What other areas have you explored? What
personal experiences have you had to clarify this decision? What was your most
rewarding clerkship? Why?
Emotional Control
Observe carefully. You can infer indirectly an applicant's level of emotional
control by sensing his/her unrest with the interviewing procedure, i.e., waiting
to be interviewed, being served a cold lunch... and the like.
Sample Questions What types of criticism upset you? Describe a situation
in which you feel you were misjudged. Describe a crisis situation in your life.
How did you deal with it and how did it affect you?
Knowledge
Before the interview, examine the application carefully. Look at NBME scores,
GPA, Alpha Omega Alpha membership, etc. Prepare to probe briefly in the interview
and conflicting or discrepant information.
Sample Questions What skills or subject have you learned outside a formal
classroom setting? How did you proceed in this learning process? Have you conducted
any research projects? Have you published any of your work? What is the most
interesting intellectual task you have ever been involved in? What subjects
did you like best and least in medical school? How (by which methods) do you
like to learn? (reading, lecture, clinical experience, computer programs, talking
with faculty, small group interaction.) Tell me about one of the most interesting
articles or studies you have read or heard about.
Clinical Performance
Case studies regarding: a) prioritizing problems; b) clinical judgment; c) definition
of problems; d) treatment planning.