Questions to Ask Residents
Written by Kaitlyn Thomas, DO
Thinking of questions to ask residents during your interview day or a virtual dinner can be challenging. So try to write out a list of questions beforehand! Here are some questions you might want to ask:
Program Responsiveness
How does your program resolve the concerns of residents?
Other ways to ask this question include:
Can you provide an example of a time that residents had a complaint and how the program addressed it?
What’s the process that you have for residents to report any concerns related to a specific rotation?
Procedures
If you’re applying to a procedure-heavy specialty (surgery specialties, EM), you can ask what kind of procedures they get to do. Variations of these questions can also be good to ask faculty and see if the answers are similar or if there is a discrepancy in the answers.
Do they take central lines for the entire hospital?
Do interns get experience putting in a chest tube?
For general surgery: What is the case volume for junior and senior residents?
Can you describe graded autonomy and supervision for procedures work?
Resident Camaraderie
Do residents spend time together outside work?
Are most residents married, single, or have children?
Faculty
You may want to ask about how the faculty interact with the residents.
How do faculty provide feedback to residents?
Do residents feel supported?
Other things that might be important to you:
Can you find housing within walking distance of the hospital?
How much does it cost to rent an apartment or buy a home?
Do you need a car to live in this city/town/area?
Do residents have free parking? How far is the walk from the parking area to the hospital?
Do residents have free access to a gym or a gym discount?
Can residents easily get time off for doctor's appointments?
Are there places to get food in the hospital while working overnight?
What are the relationships with nursing staff like?
Ultimately, it is important to think about what is most important to you. This is your future and when you make your rank list, you want to know as much as possible about the program to make an informed decision.
