Tips to Organize Interview Notes
Written by Puja Singh, MD
Congrats! You made it this far! All your hard work has paid off. You submitted ERAS, collected LORs, wrote and polished your personal statement, and are finally at the last stage: waiting. From here out it is all a waiting game. You have little control in the next few months but what you CAN control is how to set up your interviews, how to keep track of them, and how you reflect on each program after an interview. How can I do this you might ask?
1) Create a separate calendar or space where you plan to keep track of all of your interview days, as well as their designated socials and events. Also, make sure to share it with 1-2 people who also have access to the email you get interview invites. Oftentimes, these interview slots are filled up extremely quickly which can be quite stressful, especially if it’s one of your top programs. Share it with someone you trust, whether it be a parent, significant other, sibling, or a good friend, this helps take some of the burdens and stress off of your shoulders.
As a personal anecdote, when I was a third-year medical student on my surgery rotation, the 4th year gave me her phone while she scrubbed into her dream surgery just in case she received any interview invites, and lo and behold, guess what!? She got one! I was on it for her and she got the last slot that was open!
Similarly, I was actually in another interview when I got an invitation to interview later at my #1 program. Luckily, my boyfriend was able to log on and secure me a slot. I just remember seeing it pop up on my computer and knowing I could do nothing about it since I was mid-interview but thank gosh for my boyfriend! If you are couples matching this strategy also is super helpful so you can keep track of each other’s interviews and stay organized and methodical.
In the world of virtual reality and Zoom, I know something that really confused me last year during this time was how I would be able to collect my thoughts and really distinguish between a program in order to form my match list. I remember thinking that after suffering from Zoom fatigue; would I really be able to find the truly best place for me without ever entering the hospital and meeting the people in real life? At first, I planned to write out thoughts after each interview but I quickly learned that after a 5-7 hour long zoom day the last thing I wanted to do was sit and write about everything. I then decided to try typing it out, but that still did not quite capture my feelings and thoughts how I wanted it to. Finally, I found the perfect alternative: VLOGGING!
2) I know this sounds super cheesy and corny, but truly it was one of the best decisions I made all throughout interview season! Immediately after each interview, I recorded myself talking about the program, the day, the residents, and my thoughts for 1-3 minutes. I saved them all, and would periodically re-watch them throughout the interview season to remind myself of how I felt right after an interview. This was EXTREMELY helpful when I was trying to sort out my preferences and make my match list and was especially useful when I was stuck between two programs and couldn’t decide which to put first. I would open it, re-watch it, and instantly could see either the joy and excitement on my face or the ambivalence.
These are some of the things I did in order to make my life a little easier during this stressful waiting period and I would recommend it to everyone. These tips helped bring back a bit of control into my hands during the waiting game of this process.
Just remember, you have made it thus far which is a huge accomplishment and I know it is very scary and feels unknown, especially with the zoom interviews, but I promise you just have faith, try to use strategies like these to make your life a little easier and things will work out the way they are supposed to be! Good luck and bye until my next post!! #yougotthis!
