Communicate Meaningful Contributions During the Residency Interview

Which of the following discoveries is credited to a medical student?

A) Heparin

B) Insulin

C) Sinoatrial node

D) Pancreaticobiliary sphincter

E) Ether anesthesia

Give yourself a gold star if you selected any of the above answer choices (if only all standardized exams were this easy!). In fact, the most appropriate answer is not listed and would have been F) All of the Above. You can read about famous discoveries made by medical students in a wonderful article written by Drs. Mark Stringer and Omid Ahmadi published in the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Surgery.

Today's medical students continue to make significant contributions to patient care, teaching, research, and community service. In reviewing ERAS applications, guiding advisees, and conducting mock interview sessions with residency applicants, I have the great opportunity to hear or read about these fantastic accomplishments.

In residency interviews, I often ask applicants, "What sets you apart from other applicants?" or "Why should our program choose you as a resident?" This question is an ideal opportunity to discuss meaningful contributions you have made as a medical student. You  may not have discovered heparin or insulin but I have yet to meet a medical student who has not made a significant contribution.

To help you identify contributions and communicate them effectively during the residency interview, I refer you to an article I wrote several years ago for the Student Doctor Network:

The Successful Match: How to Succeed in Your Residency Interview

Answering Health Care Reform Questions in the Residency Interview

Health care reform has been a hot topic for some time now, and interviewers love to ask residency applicants questions about reform. With this being an election year, I wondered months ago whether applicants would be asked about reform more often. Feedback I have received from my mock interview clients early in this interview season seems to suggest just that, and you should certainly be prepared to field these questions.

 

Applicants are understandably concerned about their ability to answer these questions. The health care system is complex, and even seasoned practitioners of medicine may not have a firm grasp on all aspects of the system.

To answer these questions effectively, you obviously have to be well read on the topic. For many residency applicants, the last time they were asked about the health care system was at the time of the medical school admissions interview. Much has happened since then, and you may be feeling unprepared to engage in a conversation about these issues.

One useful resource to bring you up to speed is The Health Care Handbook written by Elisabeth Askin and Nathan Moore, medical students at the Washington University School of Medicine. “We wanted to write a book that would be like giving people little floaties to help them learn to swim through the vast and confusing ocean that is health care,” Ms. Askin said in a New York Times interview with Dr. Pauline Chen.