Thursday, September 24, 2020

Interview questions for practice

 Hi everyone! 

Here are some of the questions I was asked during my cardiology fellowship interviews. They can be useful to practice during medical school or residency interviews as well, which is why I am writing this post.

How do you answer these questions? Always attach a story (situation) to it. It only comes with practice - so please, practice a lot.

General questions:
Tell me about yourself. What's your story?
Why do you want to come to our program?
Do you have any ties to the city?
What are the things that you look for in a program?
What will you bring to the program? How will you make our program famous?
How would you like to be remembered after the interview?
What makes you unique?
What would you change in your journey?
Tell me something about yourself which is not in your application.
What question would you ask yourself if you were in my place?

Specialty/future related:
What do you find interesting about cardiology?
Where do you see yourself in 5 (or 10) years?
What sub-specialty are you interested in?
Do you see yourself in an academic institution or do you plan on going into private practice?
How will you contribute to the field of cardiology?

Behavioral questions:
What is your strength?
What is your weakness? (More commonly asked than what is your strength so prepare this one well!)
Tell me about a difficult situation in your life and how you dealt with it.
How do you deal with conflict?
Tell me about a time when you didn't get along with a nurse or colleague and how did you handle it.
Tell me about a time you were criticized and how you dealt with it.
Tell me about a time you found a mistake in patient care. What did you do about it?
Tell me about a time you made a mistake.
How do you manage your time?
Who is your role model (medical or non-medical)?
Tell me about a difficult patient.
Tell me about an interesting case.
Tell me about an ethical dilemma you faced.
Tell me about a challenging case in... (the specialty you are interviewing for). 

Research related:
Tell me about your research.
Tell me about the XYZ project that you worked on.
Which research project are you working on currently?
How did you get involved in research?
What are your research interests?
Which grant will you apply for when you come here?
What kind of research do you plan to do in fellowship?
If you were to start a research project today at our program, what would you look at/what project would it be?

Volunteering related:
Tell me about the XYZ volunteering activity that you did.
Volunteering takes time - why do you do it?
How did you get interested in XYZ?

Questions about your own program:
What are you doing currently? Which rotation are you on?
Tell me about your program. How big is the hospital? Do you have a residency/fellowship at your program?
Tell me about the internal medicine/cardiology experience at your program.
What would you change about your medical school/residency program?

Other:
What do you think are the challenges in the healthcare system in America?
What are the differences in the healthcare system in the US when compared to your home country?
Tell me about... (passion/hobby) in your CV. How did you get interested/involved in it?
How do you think a waiver job will impact your future as an academician?
What will you do if you don't match?

Related to current events:
How did you spend your free time during the pandemic?
What is your New Years' resolution?
What are your plans for Thanksgiving/Christmas/holidays?

You may be asked about race, religion, politics, pregnancy, etc. These are illegal questions - you can refuse to answer them or change the topic tactfully. If they come across as coercive, you can also report it to NRMP.

That's all!
-IkaN

PS: I will keep updating this post frequently.

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