The Pathology Residency Interview

Written by Clarissa E. Jordan, M.D.

Having gone through the process two years ago, I’m really passionate about helping others in the match and wanted to share what I learned, in the hopes that it might be useful. First a couple of disclaimers: these are my personal opinions and experiences regarding the match and may not be representative of all participants, nor do they reflect the opinions of my employer.

The interview can be one of the more stressful parts of the residency matching process, so it’s important to be prepared. Don’t forget to take advantage of any resources you can, such as mock interviews.

Below is a (by no means exhaustive) list of common questions I got during residency interviews:

Why pathology?

Pathology is a field that we don’t often get much exposure to in medical school, so interviewers want to make sure you know what pathologists do! You will get asked this at every interview. Use this time to showcase your experiences and commitment to the specialty!

Tell me about yourself.

This question can be answered in many different ways, so think ahead about how you want to present yourself. What are you most passionate about? What do you think makes you an attractive candidate for this program? Try to link your past experiences, research interests, etc. into a cohesive narrative that you can deliver in ~40-60 seconds. This is also an excellent place to talk about hobbies — in my experience, pathology interviews often spend a lot of time on your extracurricular interests! If you’re couples matching, I would briefly mention that fact at the end of your answer (https://www.insidethematch.com/match-tips/how-to-bring-up-the-couples-match-in-an-interview).

I see you wrote this paper/presented this poster/attended this conference...

Be prepared to speak fluently about anything and everything you put on your CV. Bonus points if you can work this into your narrative, e.g. “Yes, I have a passion for medical education, so I worked on a project examining medical student perceptions of pathology, which I presented at CAP this year...”

What drew you to our program?

You are interviewing the program too, and often interviewers ask this question to see what aspects of the program you are most interested in, and discuss those further with you. It’s also a question that will weed out people who haven’t done their research, so be sure to look up the program (and your interviewers!) in detail.

What fellowships are you interested in?

It’s a little strange to be thinking about fellowships during a residency interview, but I got asked this almost every time. If you don’t have any particular fellowship in mind, that’s okay (you can make the classic joke about being “undifferentiated”)! If you have specific interests, you can use this opportunity to learn more about the program, e.g. “Yes, I’m interested in a fellowship in forensic pathology — can you tell me about the rotations with the medical examiner?”

What is your worst character trait?

I only rarely encountered behavioral-type questions during my residency interviews, but a few programs are well-known for asking these. There are plenty more qualified people who can advise you on how to answer these; my advice is to be prepared for these types of questions before any interview.

Is there anything else you want me to know about you?

If you have other topics you’d like to discuss that happened to not come up during the interview, now’s your chance! This is the perfect opportunity to mention that you’re couples matching, that you have a special interest in the program because you have family who lives nearby, that you are passionate about education, etc.

One last piece of advice — practice your answers to these interview questions! You want to come across as clear, confident, and concise, without sounding rehearsed or like you’re reading from a book. Have a friend pretend to interview you and then give you feedback. Record yourself and playback the video to see how you come across on camera/Zoom. And don’t forget to take a moment for yourself and breathe, power-pose, or just shake out that nervous energy.

As always, good luck with the match!