Quick Residency Interview Question

Do spouses typically come along on residency interviews?

I would like to go with DH to at least a few--especially to the ones in the cities I've never been before--but I don't want to spend the entire day alone in the hotel room, and I don't want to tag along for parts of the interview if that's unusual/frowed upon.

TIA!

[SuzySunshine]

Re: Quick Residency Interview Question

You shouldn't plan on attending any part of the interview unless the itinerary says spouses welcome. If you'd like to go and check out the cities, go for it but don't plan on being invited to much of the actual interview activites.

I beleive of my husband's 12 there was 1 that had specific spouse events.

[Ladybug122]

Re: Quick Residency Interview Question

I tagged along for one or two, but I did not engage in any of the interview process. Sometimes the spouses are invited to the "night before the interview" dinner that most programs invite the applicants to. I didn't go to any of these dinners, but I know some spouses that did.
I DEFINATELY think it's a good idea to visit the cities on your match list. Check out the job market (for you), educational opportunities (for you, if applicable), cost-of-living, ease of travel to/from family, etc. As we all know, we have NO control over tha match, but it's worth looking into all of these things to make things easier later on.

Re: Quick Residency Interview Question

I didn't go along on any of the interview trips, but we did a few "second look" visits to the places we were most interested in -- had lunch with some residents or attendings, etc.

I think it's definitely worth visiting the places, even though you won't go to many "official" events -- you'll have to live in one of those places, so it's worth looking around.

[moonlight]

Re: Quick Residency Interview Question

I beleive of my husband's 12 there was 1 that had specific spouse events.

can you or anyone else go into detail about what the spouse events are like?

[SuzySunshine]

Re: Quick Residency Interview Question

Unfortunately I wasn't able to attend any of my DH's interviews. At our current program the spouses are invited to an informal social/dinner at one of the staff's house and all of the applicants, any spouses that are present, resident, resident spouses and a few staff attend. There isn't anything planned during the day though the office will set you up with a realtor if you want to look at property, schools, etc.

[Deebs]

Re: Quick Residency Interview Question

Spouses seem to be a bit more included in the process for EM, so I think it's totally specialty specific. We went on one interview where there was dinner the night before, and everyone had spouses with them. Then, during the interview, spouses were loaded onto a coach bus for a tour of the city, met the applicants for lunch and a slideshow, and then were taken in small groups by realtors to various neighborhoods that were affordable on a resident's salary. As a plus, that program also put us up and gave us an interview gift (and it's a program that traditionally goes very shallow into their rank list). After all that, DH didn't rank them all that highly, based on his desires for what a program offered, but we hold a special place for that program in our hearts. The other interviews were more of a dinner invite the night before, and maybe a lunch or tour by a spouse of a current resident.

Re: Quick Residency Interview Question

I'm going to spend a week in the northeast while he interviews in that region..I figured I would check out the cities and everything while he did his interviews. I haven't spent too much time in the area (MA, RI, CT), so I figured it would be a good opportunity. Plus, I could get a good idea what was around the hospital if he matches at any of them and I need to start looking for a job! I may pick up some apartment guides and things like that too, just in case (i like to have things in print!)

Laura

[Deebs]

Re: Quick Residency Interview Question

You could also contact a realtor - let them know you're considering the area, and would like to look around. We've looked at both apartments and houses this way. it gave us a better idea of what type of housing we'd be able to afford and took us into the cities a bit more. I hope you have a good time!