Mastering the Residency Interview Process:
Tips and Insights from Dr. Moss
Pre-Communication to Program
Preparing for the Interview
Common Interview Questions
Talking about Difficult Topics
The residency interview process can be a daunting experience for many aspiring doctors. With so much at stake, it's crucial to be well-prepared and to put your best foot forward. As a successful 2024 match applicant, and current PGY1 in Psychiatry, I provide a comprehensive guide to navigating this critical phase of your medical career.
Residency interviews are not just about showcasing your clinical knowledge and skills; they're an opportunity to demonstrate your professionalism, interpersonal skills, and fit for a program. Below, I share invaluable advice on preparing for and acing residency interviews. Let's delve into the key points and actionable tips.
Watch Video On Interview tips:
The best time to send this email is after the programs have had some time to review the majority of applications and have sent out 1-2 cohorts of invites. You don't need to send this to all your programs. Focus on the ones you flagged (your top programs you want to match). From my experience the best time is middle to end of October.
This can be as part of the letter of interest or a seperate email. However, do NOT send them tons of emails. These are helpful to show continued interest and NEW information that you didn't include in ERAS. For example passing STEP 2/3 if you just got the score back, presenting at a conference, a new publication, etc. Keep them short and sweet! Email them directly to the PD and/or program coordinator. DO NOT EXPECT an email back. If you do then great!
Before your interview, thoroughly research the program. Understand its strengths, specialties, and unique offerings. Do not ask them easy questions that can be answered through a quick google search.
Anticipate common interview questions and practice your responses. Ensure your answers are concise, relevant, and highlight your strengths through specific anecdotes and experiences. DO NOT READ your response. THEY CAN TELL! You can defiantly have a sticky note with key points and patient examples you want to highlight on your screen. Look at the CAMERA not at the screen. Even though it is virtual, we automatically make first impressions by how personable the person is - which means having "eye contact"
Watch the video above on answering questions with the STAR method. S - Situation, T - Task, A - Assessment, R- Resul
I also created a Residency Interview Course with Videos & a Workbook where you can prepare meaningful patient experiences, lessons learned through challenges, and answers to more common questions.
Prepare questions for PD, attendings, program coordinator, and residents. Make sure they are not facts that are easily accessible on their website and Google. You will most likely receive the name your interviewers so look them up and ask them about their research, advocacy, fellowship, etc. I included the topics I wanted to know on each program and what questions I prepared on this google spreadsheet. Also, create a list of 3 meaningful patient encounters you have had. Summarize the situation in 30seconds then bullet point lessons learned. These should demonstrate your strengths and values such as: honesty, perseverance, humility, teamwork, etc.
Choose professional attire that matches your ERAS photo. Set up a clean, uncluttered interview space with good lighting. Avoid distractions, such as pets, kids, or "unprofessional" backgrounds. It is worth it to purchase a microphone, lighting, and maybe camera. Don't "catfish" the program - look and be the same person as your ERAS app and Personal Statement.
Record yourself before the big day
Practice answering questions on camera:
Are you looking at the lens (not the screen)?
Does your background look professional, interesting, and not distracting?
Are you making natural eye contact and smiling?You’ll be surprised how much better your delivery gets after watching yourself once or twice.
Mock Interviews with Dr. Moss
I offer personalized mock interview sessions where she provides specific advice and practice questions. This one-on-one coaching can enhance your confidence and help you refine your interview techniques. Additionally, practicing in front of a camera is crucial for virtual interviews. Also, I provide the option to record it just for you to review and remember the feedback and how you answered. I also ask if you want to give permission to share your answers after you match to help others!
Here is a Review: "Thank you so much for the wonderful mock interview session and the valuable feedback you provided. I’m truly grateful for your detailed, thoughtful, and constructive comments. Your insights were incredibly helpful, and I learned a lot from our discussion. I also greatly appreciated your genuine and friendly approach, which made the session both comfortable and motivating. I would gladly recommend your mentorship to anyone preparing for residency interviews."
See example of one of the mock interviews with Dr. Saad
Be strategic on when you schedule your interviews, especially if you are dual applying. Maybe schedule one week to be all one specialty. Also, think about your own stamina from interviewing all day. Think about only scheduling 3-4 interviews per week. Just like you plan your breaks during STEP, plan your interview week. Make sure you have water, caffeine, and healthy snacks that are not messy! Give yourself time to get over your nerves through practice mock & real interviews. The order of your interview (Oct-Feb) won't automatically determine your place on the rank. Don't schedule multiple on the same day- they are exhausting!
Choosing the Right Program:
Consider what you want in a residency program. I advise evaluating factors such as geographic location, type of hospital, religious affiliations, political influences, and patient demographics. Reflect on your priorities and how they align with the program's offerings.
Evaluating Program Diversity:
Diversity in a residency program goes beyond the color of your skin. It includes aspects like religion, family status, and more. Look at the composition of the program's current and past residents to gauge its inclusivity and culture. You can also ask questions of residents during the meet and greet.
Importance of Networking:
Make connections with current residents and faculty. Reach out to them for insights into the program. Their firsthand experiences can provide valuable information that isn't available online or in official program literature. You can connect at conferences in person and on Doximity, LinkedIn, social media, and by messaging the program coordinator to see if you can speak with a specific resident with a commonality (med school, diversity, home town, etc).
After each interview, write your gut reactions immediately
Programs will blur together later. Jot down quick notes on:
How the PD, residents, and attendings made you feel
What stood out (good or bad)
Whether you could see yourself thriving there
Come March, those notes will be gold when you’re ranking.
Here are some common interview questions you should be prepared to answer
***Tell Me About Yourself: This is one of the common opening questions, serves as a gateway to reveal your personal story. It is import to present a well-rounded persona that extends beyond medical qualifications. Applicants should aim to connect emotionally, sharing personal values such as honesty or humility, and why these are integral to their professional journey. Your narrative should engage the interviewer emotionally, providing a memorably distinct profile compared to other candidates.Focus on your background, values, and what makes you unique. Only 1-2 min tops! Don't restate your CV, resume or personal statement
***Why This Specialty?: Be specific about why you chose your specialty, drawing on personal experiences, clinical encounters, and passions. See above mock interview recording for a wonderful answer to Why Psychiatry!
***What Are You Looking for in a Program?: Reflect on what you value most in a residency program and articulate it clearly with examples.
***Tell Me About a Challenging Experience: Use the STAR (Situation, Task, Action, Result) method to narrate how you overcame challenges. Bonus points for making it a clinical or patient care encounter you had.
***What Are Your Hobbies and Passions?: Show that you have a life outside medicine, sharing genuine interests and hobbies.
***How will your own cultural experience contribute to diversity? There are multiple advantages of showcasing cultural diversity, particularly for IMGs and URMs. Sharing multilingual abilities and experiences gained from diverse cultural backgrounds can be a significant asset when working within the U.S. medical system. Expressing how these elements empower you to connect with patients on a deeper level adds dimension to your application, setting you apart from others.
***Tell me about a challenging experience: A primary aspect of the interview is discussing your motivation for choosing a specific volunteer and research areas. Reflect on what influenced your decisions, focusing on your experiences during life challenges and crises such as the COVID pandemic. Share how these experiences have shaped your approaches to managing stress and maintaining wellbeing and how you will continue these lessons learned as a resident.
***How would you handle a difficult patient Interaction? Discussing how to handle delicate scenarios, such as breaking bad news to patients, showcases your capabilities in managing complex emotional interactions. This aligns with your ability to decide when specialist intervention is required, evidencing sound judgement crucial in medicine. Use specific scenarios to illustrate when collaboration with specialties or independent action is appropriate.
***How do you receive negative feedback? Receiving negative feedback is a universal experience. Dr. M advises preparing a thoughtful reflection on such experiences, emphasizing personal growth and adaptability. Moreover, showcasing your potential contribution to a residency program’s team environment is crucial. Demonstrating a personable, collaborative nature, as seen in discussions about hobbies and social preferences, helps project the type of colleague you’ll be.
***Why do you want to work with medical students? Teaching is a critical component of medical training. Sharing personal life experiences where you've acted as a mentor helps demonstrate your capability to inspire and educate future medical professionals. It is important to demonstrate your readiness to engage in medical student teaching and mentorship roles during residency.
***For clinical/case-style questions: They’re not testing how much medicine you know — they’re listening for how you reason, communicate, and show empathy. They want to see how you: Verbalize your thought process. Approach patient-centered situations (ethics, teamwork, asking for help). Handle uncertainty with humility and professionalism. EXAMPLE of answering cases:
Pre-Recorded Mock Interviews for you to practice answering:
You can also purchase a my Mock interview course with MORE & FULL pre-recorded mock interviews which allow to practice timing on answering questions.
Be Mindful of Breaks: Use breaks to refresh yourself, but remember you are still being observed. Maintain a professional appearance and engage courteously with others.
Personal Connection: Highlight any personal connections you have to the program or the area it’s located in. This can show your genuine interest and commitment.
Don't share/expose red flags: Not all interviewers receive your FULL app (usually just CDs and APDs). Usually the interviewers just receive your personal statement and maybe your 3 meaningful activities. If they do ask, then focus on the lessons learned and how that experience will help you as a resident doctor.
Focus on Your Strengths & Values: Use specific examples from the past 4-6 years how you have demonstrated set strengths & values.Critical thinking, Strong Work Ethic, Reliable, HonestCommunicates especially with people different than youCompassionate, Empathetic, HumanismWork well as a team, Is a Leader
Critical thinking, Strong Work Ethic, Reliable, Honest
Communicates especially with people different than youCompassionate, Empathetic, HumanismWork well as a team, Is a Leader
If you take notes during it, tell them so they don't think you are distracted
Focus on your Zoom Background: Balance professionalism with personality. For virtual interviews, setting up a distraction-free background and being mindful of lighting can improve your presence significantly. Keep attire professional yet personal, striking a balance that is true to yourself.
It’s ok to pause, breathe, or ask for clarification: Programs don’t expect perfection — they want to see how you think under pressure. If you need to rephrase the question out loud or take a second to gather your thoughts, that’s totally fine. It actually shows composure.
Pre-interview meetings with Residents
Business casualAsk everything of residents - Yes we will tell you if you ask!Professional - no alcoholPets and kids are ok!Humanism side of residencyDon’t be the only one asking the question, share the spaceAsk if anyone else wants to ask questionsTalk to the other interviewees - we like to see that you can make friends and that they are not just "your competitor"
Non-Interview Time Is Important!
Interview isn't limited to the formal Q&A sessions with program directors. Your behavior during breaks and informal interactions with fellow applicants and program staff are also under scrutiny. Maintain a professional demeanor and engage respectfully and amiably with everyone you meet.
Speaking on Difficult Topics:
How to Talk about Academic Failures or "Red Flags"
How to Talk about Leaves & Time off:
Whether to Disclosure Disability in Residency Application
If you got the interview, you already passed the filter
Your scores, leaves, gaps, or academic “red flags” are no longer the focus.You’ve been invited because your application met their standards — now they just want to see if you’d fit in with their team. Think of it as a vibe check, not an interrogation.
At the end of each interview write your gut feelings about the attendings, the residents, the PD, and the program overall. All the interviews and programs will blend together and this will be helpful when ranking in March. I included my own thoughts on all of my family medicine and Psychiatry interviews and included them here.
Send post-interview thank-you emails to express your gratitude and reiterate your interest in the program. Keep them short and sweet. State a sentance about your individual interview, so they can remember the conversation. Include a short part about why that program and area (personal connection).
My Answers to Interview Questions
I Focused on Humility, Perseverance, Advocate, Resilience, Authentic, Empathy
“What would it look like if you were living a more authentic self?” This quote has been stuck in my head for a while and has led me to push myself to be more open and honest with myself and others. To be more willing to share my challenges because I cannot hide them anymore because it is all part of my journey. Even though I still wonder what it would be like if I hadn’t struggled with trauma, racism, or academic failure I know that it has strengthened me and provided me resiliency.
What did you Learn through failure?
"I am still growing, and I know that I’m on the right path to living more authentically and purposefully."
Why do you want that specific specialty?
Why Family Medicine: Because I can see individuals at all ages and walks of life and be able to directly connect their mental and physical health through holistic treatment.
Why Psychiatry: Everyone has a story, and as a psychiatrist, I have the opportunity to listen to that story in the hopes to understand what brought them to this day. I love listening to stories, and getting to know the ones that brought our patients to their current state. I want to be a psychiatrist because I am given education and time to spend going in depth with my patient to truly understand all the factors impacting their mental health. Getting to know individuals excites me because they are like a unique puzzle that I will never fully understand and can always discover new things about them since they’re constantly changing. People are like never ending books and I love mystery books because you have to pay attention to minute details to be able to uncover the result
Why is Mental and Behavioral Health Important to you? "I choose to study psychology and later medicine because I have a passion for trying to understand the intricacies of our mind and how it relates to people’s health and well being. I am fascinated on how much of an impact both our genes and environment create each individual."
What is the importance of Diversity? "Through my multitude of experiences working in different settings and with diverse group of individuals, I have practiced being able to quickly create a report with my clients so there is mutual trust to be able to be able to understand the problem. Through motivational interviewing techniques I am learned how to work with them to determine how they would best want me to help them."
What is Patient-centered care? "I hope to use this knowledge as a physician by trying to work with each client as an individual person with their own background, symptoms, and story."
More specific practice questions on Dr. Moss' mock interview course
Check out the Next Blog Post: Ranking Programs
The residency interview process is a critical step in your medical career. By thoroughly preparing, practicing, and presenting your best self, you can navigate this process successfully. Embrace and articulate your journey with confidence, authenticity, and preparedness. By following these guidelines, you can enhance your interview performance, ensuring you leave a lasting impression on your interviewers. These insights and tips provide a solid foundation for any aspiring resident. For more detailed advice and personal coaching, consider signing up for Dr. Moss's mock interviews or the pre-recorded interview course.
Good luck with your residency applications, and remember to stay authentic and confident throughout the process. You deserve to be here!
Psyc Residency Open House Calendar by PsycSign
Dr. Moss' Mock Interview Course
1:1 Mock Interview with Dr. Moss
Residency Application YouTube Playlist
Blog Posts on Residency Application
Residency Application Workbook
For more resources, tips, and personalized advice, check out Dr. Moss' blog posts, Life as a Patient-Doctor podcast, and store front.