Tuesday, November 28, 2006

Post Interview 1

My first interview went well, alhamdulillah. I think I mentioned earlier about the dinner the night before the interview…...it being right after thanksgiving only two candidates showed up(me and this one other guy) and it was just us and the chief resident. In a way it was good because it gave us a chance to get to know each other and for the chief resident to tell us about the program and answer our questions. The interview day itself started at seven and ended at one. I was the only international medical graduate amongst the 6 people interviewing that day…the rest were students from local universities in Michigan….a little intimidating as a couple of them had actually done a few rotations at this hospital and well, they seemed to know every one around. Anyways, two of them were really nice and it was fun talking to them as we awaited our turns for our respective interviews. I was interviewed by three people one of them was the chief resident ( yay ! Because he just told me he had gauged what he wanted to the night before and asked if I had any questions) The biggest selling point for this program would have to be the program director himself who went to great lengths to make one feel comfortable. I had liked this program instantly as I went through its website when I chose to apply to it. They are big on teaching, all the residents seemed happy, more than half their graduates go onto fellowship training and research is compulsory which helps a lot in fellowship placements down the line. The day ended with lunch with the residents. They also gave us these goody bags to take home..…brownie points there because they had a chocolate bar in them too! All in all, I must say it was a great experience…..I would probably have a better frame of reference as I interview at more places…but I did like what I saw at this particular program and for a community program it had some really impressive credentials. I am going to be in Detroit in January for another interview and I think I will probably go and visit this program again inshaAllah. I head out to Kentucky next….I am scheduled to interview at University of Kentucky on December 1st. It probably won’t be as laid back as my previous interview what with it being a university program(for the non medics…university programs are generally considered better than community programs and so their interviews are said to be more high profile too….I have my own reservations about this but I shall talk about that some other day). Its going to be quite a road trip as D and a cousin have decided to accompany me…..we’ll be driving down and it’ll be fun! After this I’ll have a week before my next interview which is just perfect timing because Maa is flying down from England to visit for exactly one week! I am very excited as this would be one time in the past two years when I’d be able to spend time with her without having to worry about some crappy exam! Thank you all for checking in on me…keep praying…Aya still has a long way to go! :)

6 Comments:

Blogger Unknown said...

If one person will go all the way, I know its u, Aya...

My prayers and support.

12:33 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Don't worry..... the university program interviews are a breeze as well.... you'll definitely enjoy them... I haven't interviewed a community place yet but my experience with the three Mid-west University programs that i've been to so far, has been excellent... it will be a laid back kinda day... everybody will be super-nice... remember they want you to rank them highly as much as the other way round...

Good luck on the interview trail...

1:17 AM  
Blogger Aya said...

Usman: Thank you for the vote of confidence and your prayers...hope your interviews go really well inshaAllah.

Hussain: Thats good to hear and you're right...they want us as much as we want them.I think my fear actually stemmed from having read through Iserson's...he makes these interviews seem like major grilling sessions.Thank you and the very best of luck to you too!

Uzer: LOL!but really....it can't be all THAT bad?I tried changing templates once and was actually told to stick to this one cos this one was "easy on the eyes"!!!..heheh..
Thank you and the very best to you too for your interviews....I shall inshaAllah remember you in my prayers.

2:53 PM  
Blogger Uzer said...

Haha. Don't worry about it Insha-Allah, I'll live...

... but if I go blind I'm suing.

11:58 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

It really is intimidating when you find a few american grads who have done their rotations t the place and seem to know everyone around nd everyone stops by to say hi to them. but then again these re the very odds we are playing against.
Good luck with the rest of the interviews inshaAllah

2:39 PM  
Blogger Aya said...

uzer: you won't go blind inshaAllah...like I said...its not THAT bad..:)

p.s: suing me won't get you anything..I am jobless!

moiz: That definitely is what we are up against...Thank you and if you can pls do remember me in your prayers.

9:20 PM  

Post a Comment

<< Home