Fourth-year is FLYING by. I can’t believe I’m halfway through interview season. So far, I have to say that the internal medicine interviews have been very relaxed. As I mentioned in a previous post, it seemed like programs were selling themselves to me rather than the other way around. I will say that this is a refreshing change. Being on a decent amount of interviews has really decreased the initial anxiety of interview season. I feel that I have a decent idea about how to answer specific questions and about what specific questions to ask each program. I don’t have my answers rehearsed per se, but I have a general idea about what points to bring up if I’m asked a specific question.
I find the interview trail to be a double-edged sword. On one hand, I have really enjoyed traveling to different parts of the US! I rarely took vacations growing up or during medical school, so spending some time (albeit brief) in new locations is fun! You get a sense of the town/city and a feel for the people. In addition, you get to tour different hospital systems and interact with residents from all over the country. On the other hand, traveling costs a decent amount. Sometimes you have interviews scheduled back to back so it can be stressful to go from one city to the next. Also, since I’m on the interview trail it has been a while since I have done anything clinical, and so I feel a little bit rusty!
