Tips to answer residency interview questions

So this was the most awaited and utmost expected moment for you….the USMLE residency interview call. You know that you are halfway through already by clearing the USMLE exam. Yes, you read it right that in the entire process of your profile selection, USMLE exam scores and letters have made you only 50% of an upright potential fit for the USMLE residency program. The rest 50% depends on your interview performance. And this thought can be very overwhelming, impacting directly in one or other way at the time of your residency interview performance.  On the other hand you must as well keep in mind that interview call means, you are technically qualified already and you only need to polish your work experience stories, your body language and smartly be convincing that you are a perfect match for the USMLE residency program.
At this stage you need to keep your profuse feelings aside and start preparing for the residency interview accepting that preparation is the only key to crack the interview well.

It will be best to focus or plan your interview with the help of following general steps:-
Interview response framing – How to respond to an interview is the most crucial aspect to get through the interview. Let’s break this process in three phases to make it easier to understand :
  • Content – You must have material / content to respond to the interview questions which you will get from your practice or experience. Brush up all your work experience, if possible in detail.
  • Structure – Structuring comprises practicing to organize your thoughts and respond in the limited time frame. Always remember that this isn’t a coffee table chit chat, but an interview where the interviewer is only available to pay attention to relevant responses. A response may not exceed 2 minutes unless you are asked to elaborate more on the topic.
  • Articulation or Communication – Responding in the right tone with passion and enthusiasm equally ]matters. Clarity in responding and appropriate formation of response creates a very constructive impression indeed.


General categories of questions
Questions to start the conversation – “Tell me something about yourself” is the most expected common question asked in the interview to start with. Here you don’t have to emphasize on too much personal information starting from your childhood and etc. The key to respond to this typical question is the balance of profession Vs personal information.
Question about your medical experience & research – Although you have mentioned almost everything in brief about your medical experience & research, apparently here the expectation of the interviewer from you is to be more elaborative about your research and observe that whatever you have mentioned in your CV is in alignment with what you are talking about. You must elaborate an overview of the research project, your specific role in that and the outcome.
Behavioral & situational questions – The question of this category will be about sharing some real life scenarios / situations at work.
Personal questions – Apart from medical experience you can be asked about your other areas of interests which we generally call hobbies. You need to keep in mind to not respond to your other interests in just one word or one line. Try relating some situations / events / occasions where you have practically applied or contributed with your hobbies.
Red flag questions (specifically for those who have scored low) – The key to crack this category of question is to not get very defensive with your low score, rather acknowledge the gap and share your strategy on how you overcame that gap. The Programs are ok with your Red flag and hence you are sitting in the interview, they only want to confirm that now you are clinically active / ready to start.
Residency related question – In this category the interviewer will focus on your enthusiasm as well as fears about starting residency. Here, it’s very important to give them a solution rather than only highlighting your challenges & fear.

Dealing with negative feedback- In case of negative feedback you should always take it as constructive criticism that you look for improvement opportunities. The interviewer’s intention is to only see how much you have improved.
At last but not the least the interview is all about how much you fit in the USMLE residency program along with your technical skills. 
Preparation for the interview is the key to crack it successfully. Be prepared and be confident.



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