Return to Volume 3, Issue 4 Table of Contents
This is an excerpt from “Mentoring Residents Through the Subspecialty Application Process,” published in A Toolkit for Internal Medicine Education Programs, Eighth Edition. More information about the fellowship application process can be found on page 9.
Interviews
Residency program directors can provide a valuable service by arranging mock fellowship interviews. These interviews provide an opportunity to critique residents on their demeanor as well as the content of their answers. As with the personal statement, this opportunity allows the candidates to shine. They should project enthusiasm, uniqueness, and inquisitiveness. Candidates should:
- Be confident but not arrogant.
- Prepare to ask one to two questions of the interviewer, avoiding topics addressed by the program’s brochures or welcoming session. (The type of questions candidates ask conveys a great deal about their interests.)
- Provide concise answers to the interviewer’s questions.
- Maintain a professional demeanor, including maintaining eye contact and remaining positive.
- Convey genuineness when answering commonly asked questions.
Commonly asked questions are:
- What distinguishes you from other candidates?
- Why are you interested in this field? This program?
- Tell me about your research project or interests?
- What made you decide to pursue or select
______ (any item from your CV)?
- Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
- What do you like most about your residency program? Dislike?
Post-Interview Dialogue with Programs
Managing the post-interview process can be one of the most challenging aspects for the candidate. Candidates should send a follow-up note to each program, thanking them and perhaps pointing out a unique point of attraction. Candidates should avoid a generic note that appears to be sent to all programs. One of the goals of this note is to make the fellowship program director “feel good” about the candidate. Opinions vary whether this note should be an email or hand written, but most individuals will find an email sufficient. If a resident truly feels that a program is his or her first choice, articulate this fact clearly in the note. Comments such as “near the top of my list” or “one of my top choices” tells the fellowship that this program is not the resident’s first choice. Fellowship program directors are people the resident will undoubtedly interact with throughout his or her career, so honesty is important. Programs in subspecialties without a match may begin calling residents to ask about a relatively immediate decision regarding a position in their program. This process can be
particularly distressing when the resident is given a very short time to make a decision, especially if their interviews are incomplete. In competitive disciplines without a match, residents should choose, whenever possible, to schedule the programs that interest them most as early as possible.
Joseph Kolars, MD
Residency Program Director, Associate Chair
Department of Internal Medicine
Mayo Clinic College of Medicine
Charles Clayton
Vice President for Policy
Alliance for Academic Internal Medicine
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