So, you’re preparing for your internal medicine residency interview questions, and you don’t even know where to start. If your medical residency interview preparation doesn’t go well, you won’t have a shot at your dream residency. Any number of questions can be covered in a residency interview, and in a variety of different types. You need to expect common questions, sidewinders, and everything in between.
It can be hard to find good, reliable medical residency interview tips. But if you have good answers, practice, and a residency mock interview or two, you’ll be ready to give your best interview yet.
So, keep reading for a list of more residency interview questions along with some common questions about internal medicine, sample answers, and explanations for each question.
Interviewing for an internal medicine residency position can be an intimidating process. As a specialty that requires strong critical thinking, communication skills and medical knowledge internal medicine residency interviews aim to determine if you have the clinical acumen and personal qualities to thrive in the program.
Being prepared to discuss your knowledge, experience and approach to patient care is key to effectively conveying why you are a strong candidate for the residency. Here are some of the most common internal medicine doctor interview questions you are likely to encounter and tips for responding successfully.
Assessing a Patient’s Condition
Interviewers often ask open-ended questions about how you evaluate patients to gain insight into your clinical reasoning process. For example:
- “Which tests do you perform to assess a patient’s medical condition?”
- “Walk me through how you diagnose patients presenting with abdominal pain.”
- “Describe your approach to developing a treatment plan for a patient with multiple chronic conditions.”
When responding, be sure to demonstrate a structured, logical approach such as:
- Obtain thorough history and physical exam findings
- Identify any red flags or urgent issues
- Develop a broad differential diagnosis
- Order appropriate diagnostic tests to narrow down diagnoses
- Interpret test results and update differential accordingly
- Provide provisional diagnosis and suggest targeted treatment plan
- Follow up and monitor response to treatment
Use specific examples when possible to illustrate your systematic approach to complex cases Emphasize how you analyze each piece of data to guide your clinical decision making,
Discussing Diabetes Treatment
With diabetes being a highly prevalent condition in internal medicine, you will need to be well-versed in current evidence-based treatments Interviewers may ask you broad questions like
- “Describe some of the most successful treatments for patients suffering from Type 1 Diabetes.”
When responding, make sure to touch on key medications like:
- Insulin replacement therapy
- Use of insulin analogs like lispro, aspart and glargine to mimic natural insulin secretion
- Adjunctive therapies like pramlintide to slow gastric emptying and reduce postprandial spikes
You should also discuss important lifestyle modifications and monitoring such as:
- Following a consistent carbohydrate diet and testing blood glucose levels frequently
- Using CGMs to track trends
- Increasing physical activity
- Avoiding hypoglycemia
- Screening for and managing long-term complications
Convey that you stay up to date on diabetes treatment guidelines and personalized medicine approaches for optimal glucose control. Use specific drug names and patient education points.
Responding to Treatment Hesitancy
It is common for internal medicine doctors to encounter patients who are reluctant to follow treatment recommendations. You may get questions like:
- “A patient is discouraged by the treatment plan you have just suggested. How would you respond?”
When responding, emphasize shared decision making. For example:
- Validate their concerns and hesitations about treatment
- Explore the reasons for their reluctance through open-ended questions
- Provide education about their condition and the rationale for your recommendations
- Involve the patient by asking for their perspective and priorities
- Present options when available and negotiate a plan that addresses their needs
- Commit to closely monitoring and modifying the plan as needed
- Follow up consistently to reassess their willingness and barriers to treatment
Convey your patience and commitment to building trust through open communication. Do not force your recommended treatment without regards for patient values and preferences. Demonstrate your willingness to compromise while still advocating for evidence-based care.
Discussing Complex Cases
You will likely be asked to describe challenging cases you managed to assess your clinical reasoning skills. For example:
- “Describe your most challenging medical case.”
Pick a complex case that showcases your ability to diagnose and coordinate care for co-morbid patients. Clearly outline the presenting symptoms, diagnostic approach, critical thinking in narrowing down differential diagnoses, multidisciplinary input, treatment options presented and chosen, and outcome.
Emphasize key points like:
- Your methodical approach to unraveling complicated presentations through a detailed history, physical exam and selection of appropriate tests
- How you initiated treatments promptly when red flags were present while continuing to investigate
- Any clinical reasoning that led you to an atypical diagnosis
- Creative solutions when conventional treatments failed
- Patient education and communication provided throughout management
- Your collaboration with specialists and other providers like pharmacists, nutritionists, therapists etc.
- How you maintained vigilance for complications and adjusted treatment plans accordingly
- The importance of compassionate, dedicated care for complex patients
Convey your diagnostic acumen, tenacity and passion for providing optimal care. Complex cases demonstrate clinical reasoning and coordination capabilities essential for internal medicine doctors.
Additional Common Questions
Some other frequent internal medicine interview questions include:
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Tell me about yourself – Briefly summarize your background, motivation for medicine, and particular interests in internal medicine such as primary care, cardiology, endocrinology etc.
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Why are you interested in our program? – Mention specific features that align with your skills, interests and career goals. Show that you have thoroughly researched the program.
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What interests you most about internal medicine? – Share your passion for diagnosing disease, longitudinal doctor-patient relationships, counseling patients on wellness and preventive care etc.
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How do you approach delivering difficult news to patients? – Express empathy, compassion and a commitment to supporting patients and families. Discuss employing patience, reading body language and allowing space for questions.
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How do you respond when patients challenge your recommendations? – Affirm their right to ask questions. Explain your rationale clearly. Involve them in shared decision making. Commit to building trust.
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How do you prioritize tasks when very busy? – Discuss focusing on the sickest patients first. Cluster care tasks when possible. Utilize team support. Convey importance of work-life balance.
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What qualities make a good internal medicine doctor? – Emphasize strong work ethic, clinical knowledge, thirst for learning, empathy, communication skills, integrity, teamwork and commitment to patient advocacy.
Careful preparation and mock interviews will help you polish responses to likely interview questions. Demonstrate your dedication to providing compassionate, evidence-based and patient-centered care. Convey genuine excitement for continuing your education in internal medicine. With practiced responses highlighting your strengths, you will make a winning impression on interview day.
A Short List of Other Common or Potential Internal Medicine Residency Interview Questions
During a residency interview, each question is meant to make sure that you are a good fit for the program and that the program is a good fit for you. When you apply to a program and it fits you like a puzzle piece, you have a match. Find out the best questions to ask residency programs to get a better idea of how well they fit your needs.
Internal medicine is a broad field, and there are lots of ways to show that you are qualified for this job. You should work on your problem-solving, time-management, ability to see the big picture, and ability to think quickly under pressure.
You can be better ready for your residency interview with these general tips and specific questions. Make sure to practice answering questions in your own words and as many questions as you can. As the next step in your preparation, you will have a mock interview. This is the best way to get ready for an interview because it mimics the real thing. Any book on how to get into residency will tell you that practice is key and that doing well in your interview is a must if you want to be successful.
What Do You Do for Fun?
What is being asked?
It’s kind of like “tell us about yourself,” but with a twist. This question is also meant to find out what kind of person you are. Your hobbies and how you spend your free time will reveal a lot about you to the interviewer(s). Pick one or two of your favorite things to do. You don’t need to directly connect them to medicine. You should talk about activities or hobbies that are interesting and reflect on your abilities and faculties. You might highlight anything like sports, reading, playing instruments, languages, or any number of other activities.
There are very few hobbies you should avoid speaking about. If you really enjoy working in labs, you might want to leave that answer out and focus on hobbies that aren’t related to school. If you do, you might come across as a workaholic. Anything seen as a waste of time isn’t wise to speak of, either. Avoid speaking about spending time on social media, for instance.
No matter what you talk about, make sure you link what you did to good qualities, lessons learned, or your chosen specialty.
Variants of this question
- What are your hobbies?
- What do you do when you aren’t studying?
- What do you do in your spare time?
Sample Answer
Even though school and medicine take up a lot of my time these days, I always find time to learn something new through woodworking. For as long as I can remember, I’ve loved this hobby of carving. I always knew it would never be my job, but I still love it.
One year for my birthday, I got a pocketknife. Right away, I did what many little boys do: I started whittling sticks into spears and swords for my pretend games. As time went on, I started challenging myself with actual projects.
You don’t know how hard it is until you try to carve a smooth, round ball out of wood. It’s trickier than it sounds. Once I had that down, I started trying to carve small animals and little wooden people. Each new figurine took patience and care, but each one was rewarding as it took shape.
Along the way, my hobby has given me many other gifts. For example, I’m proud of how precisely I keep my blades sharp and well-cared for and how precisely I follow safety rules. I know how to take care of myself and my tools when I work with wood, and I always think about how I’m working as well as what I’m working on. I also have a deep respect for all kinds of wood and feel obligated to take care of nature.
Lastly, I’ve given most of my projects away over the years, usually to nieces and nephews who love them. Woodworking taught me how to take care of tools, be safe, and be precise. It also gave me a chance to share my skills with other people.
