Log In

Search form

  1. Residency Search
  2. Questions to ask at Interviews

Questions to ask at Interviews

Below is a sample of the type of questions you should be asking on residency interviews.

 

Questions for Interviewers

  1. What are the greatests strengths of your program? (weaknesses will be usually  volunteered by the interviewer when you ask about the strengths)
  2. OR experience?
  3. Clinic experience?
  4. Research experience - how does your project get chosen?
  5. Where does the research funding come from?
  6. What major changes do you see in the foreseeable future?
  7. What changes have occurred recently?
  8. Any people retiring (e.g. department chair) or likely to leave (e.g. junior faculty)?
  9. Where do most graduates end up?
  10. Laparoscopic and Robotic experience for the residents?
  11. Open experience?
  12. Pediatric experience?
  13. Is there a formal resident education syllabus?
  14. How do the residents fare in terms of case numbers?
  15. What is the clinic experience like?
  16. Do residents present at regional or national meetings?

Questions for Residents

  1. Why did you decide to come to this program?
  2. What other programs were you considering when you were applying?
  3. Strengths of the program? Weaknesses of the program?
  4. Faculty contact?
  5. Floor responsibilities?
  6. Typical daily census?
  7. How's the ancillary staff?
  8. OR experience - i.e. how much of the case they get to do, are cases distributed equally all years, or are most significant cases done by seniors/chiefs?
  9. Laparoscopy-numbers of cases?
  10. Chief year-responsibilities/OR privileges?
  11. Research requirements and opportunities?
  12. Program's general emphasis on research?
  13. Clinic time, organization, and demographics ?
  14. Number of hospitals, distribution of residents, travel time between hospitals?
  15. Academic vs. private emphasis?
  16. What did most recent graduates do?
  17. Computer system, ordering system?
  18. Hours, call schedule, back up vs. 1st call?
  19. Effect of 80-hour workweek?
  20. Time on general surgery-how are they treated, how hard/interesting is it, are the rotations tailored to what the residents want, quality of the training?
  21. Vacation?
  22. Social life-do the residents go out much, are they mostly married/single?
  23. Housing - where do residents live?
  24. What's the scoop on the other programs in town?

Go to Residency Guide
Go to "Interviews" section within the Residency Guide