Potential interview questions

Why do I want to be a psychiatrist?
Tips: less blinking, look directly at the interviewer. Don’t sound emotionally robotic

Describe a particularly satisfying or meaningful experience during your medical training? Why was it meaningful?
One example stands out to me. A two time iraqi war veteran with severe PTSD came in after overdosing on his seroquel as a suicide attempt. At first i was daunted by the challenge of meeting him and his family. I was afraid his PTSD would prove too traumatic or too difficult to talk about and that he wouldn’t trust me. With time, only with the trust and the nonjudgmental trust of mutuple sessions he opened up to me. In these sessions i learned his life story, i learned many things about him that were so differnt from my preconeived notions of a veteran. (ie buff man, dude-ish, very angry). We learned different things about each other as individuals.
I started ACT acceptance and commitment therapy with him without even knowing it was ACT (clouds instead of leaves on a stream).
On PMR met a patient with behcet disease who developed anxiety from the constant treatments and pain.

Give an example of a difficult patient
I met a young woman in child/adolescent ward with a history of ODD, ADHD, DMDD, anxiety and self-injuring behavior presenting with worsening self-injury just as she was leaving her short term care program. She had a long history in the system and was calling the shots on day one. She said she didn’t trust anyone. Eventually she warmed up to me. Last I heard she was asking about me in the ER when she came through.

Why do you want to join an adolescent/child psychiatry program?
I’m interested in treating a variety of patients, and child/adolescent psychiatry is something I want to specially train. They are young and still developing, they have a chance to reverse or move past their behavior illnesses and not be defined by it. On the child/adolescent psychiatry ward, I met several young patients with modifiable diseases. They blamed themselves for their family dysfunctions, they acted out their stress, had interesting expressions of that stress (conversion disorder, ODD, impulsivity to self harm, schizophrenia(?)). These were all more pliable and great changes in their projected outcomes could be made. On the outpatient clinic, I met many patients with well managed adhd, depression in remission, personality disorders that were getting recognition.
A good child psychiatrist (Dr. Sandler) could reach the actual problem in minutes of establishing a relationship and this is something I admire and want to accomplish.
I relate well to kids.

What do I bring to the job that's unique
I bring intense curiosity, eagerness to learn,
Great desire to make interpersonal relationships with patients, peers, mentors.
I am a friendly, nice person.
I don't see psychiatry as a job. I don’t want to leave at the end of the day. It's enjoyable.
I realize the opportunities here and hope to exhaust them thoroughly in the next four years.
I'm very interested in the medical, biological, clinical aspects of psychiatry. My background was STEM and biological research, which gives me a scientific perspective in development/psychiatry.
I want to master the psychotherapy modalities, build experience with the different drugs
I want to learn about the trial treatment types
I want to work with the underserved population, minorities, veterans, children, women, the elderly. I like variety. I share the immigrant heritage and can relate to many people. I went to public school with working class friends. I met Vietnamese, Cambodian, Laoasian, Chinese, Korean people
Medicine is an apprenticeship and I am learning for both my understanding and the understanding of future generations of medical students/residents.
I am a voracious reader, consumer of culture, which helps me know more about the world.

Why do you want to be a psychiatrist?
I'm excited by the variety of age settings (child, adolescent, college student, occupational, couples, family, geriatric, palliative care).
I want to be a psychiatrist because it is holistic and I get to learn about my entire patient’s life. My job involves listening, empathizing, reflection. I want to be a primary care physician and this specialization is uplifting to be.

Why would you be a psychiatrist versus a SW or therapist or psychologist?
I learned the medical, biological, and clinical aspects of medicine and hope to apply that in the clinical environment. I have a different perspective on human behavior, development, psychology. I enjoy medical treatment of my patients. I want to continue learning the science and art of psychiatry.

What are you looking for in your psych training
Psychopharmacology, psychosomatic medicine, family therapy, CBT, psychodynamic therapy, and play therapy, schools consultation, corrections/juvenile court consultation. I want to learn a variety of sub specialties in psychiatry and there are those resources here.

Would you like an academic or clinical position?
Though I have a background in STEM and research, I plan on a clinical position. This does not mean I will stop research. When I learn, I am learning in order to teach the next generation of medical students and my peers. I have done research with the medical college, and given presentations to my peers. I see research as improving my own understanding of psychiatry and able to put things into better perspective.

Describe a situation that excalated into a medical emergency. What role did you play in the situation?
I volunteered during college at Albany Medical Center’s Emergency Department. It is the only major tertiary care center within 100 miles and we see patients from vermont, southern canada, upstate new york. We had a farmer arrive after cutting down a tree and it landing on and shattering his leg. He dragged himself to get help.

What are your short and long term career goals?
In the short term, my goal is to train myself to work as a standalone psychiatrist. I want to be able to treat patients from a broad spectrum of life moments, occupations, experiences.
My long term goal is to treat patients in the clinic with medical problems, something I know is underserved.

Tell me about yourself
Why are you interested in this program?
Why do you want to be a physician?
Why did you choose your specialty? or What specialties interest you?
I like psychiatry, pediatrics, pmr, radiology, family medicine.
Why did you choose your medical school?
I knew I'd go into medicine early. I found the physician-scientist program to align with this vision.
Tell me about X aspect of your medical school education. (Be prepared to discuss different classes, rotations, extracurriculars, research — basically anything on your resume/CV)
What qualities/strengths make you a good physician?
My strength is acclimating to new environments, new computer systems, attention to detail.
What is a weakness or area for development?
My area for development is leadership and managing a team. I work well with patients one-on-one and on the medical team. I share responsibility well.
I don't want to leave work without finishing it all up.
When it comes to the field of medicine, what is your biggest fear?

I'm afraid that one day we won't need doctors. Because we'll find a cure via neuropsychiatric or genetics engineering to
What do you have to offer that only you can bring to our program?

Describe yourself in one word.
Wonder.
How would you rate your medical school education? What would you change?
I'd rate it a 8/10 because I am equipped with resources, tools, knowledge to become a practicing physician. I had learned quite a lot. I have a good idea of what's next.
What’s the most recent work of fiction you’ve read? Tell me about the book?
I just picked up the final book in the Three Body Problem trilogy. It's a sci-fi novel: humanity anticipating the arrival of an advanced alien species in 400 years.
Why are you interested in the program we offer?
The best training in all three fields at once.
What will you do if you don’t match?
I will apply for psychiatry residencies in the match. I'll complete a pediatrics internship if possible.
Who is your role model?

Tell me about an ethical dilemma you’ve had on the wards.
à What are your greatest strengths?
à What are your greatest weaknesses?
à If you weren’t in medicine, what career would you pursue?


à What’s the most difficult experience you’ve had to overcome?


à How did you like medical school?
I enjoyed it immensely. I'd repeat the experience again if I had to choose because it lead me to this career path.
à What have you found most difficult about medical school?


What do you do in your spare time?
I like reading medical forums, blogs, read, bike, play violin, find artsy things to do. I truly like reading medical textbooks and try to collect any good ones as I go. Love food.

à Where do you see the future of the field?

Match Day! helloworld

It’s 5am on Match Day and I’m anxious. Today my fellow fourth year medical students will open an envelope at noon stating where they'll go for the step in becoming fully independent doctors.

The last eight years of extreme studying is finally paying off. But at the same time, the unknown is looming further forward. My life has been a series of planning, anticipating roadblocks, and then looking for the next step. Perhaps as a life coping mechanism, I make plans for the next few weeks, months, and years.

But I’m running out of ideas for the next step. What should I do next?

...

... just breath.