A pathology residency interview is a critical step on the journey to becoming a successful pathologist. While much of it is similar to any other residency interview, there are some specific questions that will be asked regarding the field of pathology. It is important to come prepared with thoughtful answers that demonstrate your understanding of what a pathology residency entails. Questions might range from your career goals and how your past experiences have prepared you for residency to specific questions about the field and its complexities. It is important to be prepared for the interview and have a clear sense of your qualifications, motivations, and goals. Your answers will be an important factor in determining whether or not you are accepted into a pathology residency program. In this blog post, we’ll provide you with an overview of the types of questions commonly asked during pathology residency interviews, along with tips for how to craft your answers.
- Why did you choose pathology as your specialty? During medical school, I was helping pay for my education by working as an autopsy technician. …
- What do you think makes a good resident? …
- What do see yourself doing after completing a pathology residency?
Preparing for your pathology residency interview
6 Pathologist Interview Questions and Answers
What is your level of experience with growing microbial or bacterial samples?
A lot of the work that your pathologist will be conducting will revolve around minute experimentation with microscopic organisms. Since microbial and bacterial colonies take time to grow and can easily become contaminated or die if conditions are not exact, your candidate should be aware of the possible missteps that might occur when working with these types of experiments. Furthermore, they should know how to troubleshoot in case something does go wrong with their microbe samples.
What to look for in an answer:
- Experience working with microbial or bacterial samples
- Knowledge of how to troubleshoot experiments
- Detail-oriented personality
What aspect of pathology interests you most?
Pathology requires candidates to focus on research, lab duties and data analysis. This question can help you better understand a candidate’s passion for their job and their desire to work to find answers. A candidate focused on pathology can work well individually and is often research-driven.
The candidate’s response should emphasize:
- Focus on research aspects of medicine
- Ability to find information and analyze data
- Clear rationale for choosing pathology
A response to this question may look like this:
Tell me about a time you handled human tissue and fluid samples in a lab.
A pathologist’s work will necessarily revolve around working to diagnose diseases in patients and experimenting to gain insights on illnesses that are currently not well-understood. These specialists conduct experiments that seek to use human fluid and tissue samples to treat problematic diseases in replicable ways across different communities. As such, your candidate will need to be both comfortable handling human fluids and able to follow a strict set of protocols necessary to keep samples from getting contaminated.
What to look for in an answer:
- Examples of past lab experience
- Explanation of protocols for keeping samples uncontaminated
- Capability of undertaking detail-oriented work
Tell me about your process for inspecting lab equipment, procedures and inputs to diagnose a problem with an experiment.
Since your pathologist will be working on complex and detailed experiments on a daily basis, it is likely that they will come across situations when certain protocols do not translate into results as was previously expected. Your candidate will need to be able to correctly handle expensive equipment to ensure that the data produced is not contaminated. They will also become an expert in troubleshooting operating procedures to ensure that their experiments are replicable by others in the medical community, a key factor in passing academic peer-review standards.
What to look for in an answer:
- Has a clear process for troubleshooting experiments
- Comfortable handling expensive and delicate machines
- Detail-oriented and methodical disposition
Why do you want to become a pathologist as opposed to focusing on other areas of medicine?
Within the different focuses available in the medical field, pathology is one that requires candidates to focus more on lab work and research than some other careers do. In fact, many pathologists do not need to work in direct patient care at all if they so choose. Therefore, it is important that your candidate is one who is more interested in the research side of medicine and is not keen on working regularly with people.
What to look for in an answer:
- Clear reason for choosing to study pathology
- Enjoys research and lab work
- Ability to synthesize data and medical knowledge
How much experience do you have with using microscopic techniques to evaluate issues with blood samples?
Most of your pathologist’s lab work will be focused on small samples of human tissue or fluids. Since most diseases attack at the cell level, your candidate will need to be skilled in using microscopes and pipettes to conduct precise experiments. The level of focus necessary to complete these experiments successfully is extremely high, so you should screen for applicants who are able to sit still and work quietly for long periods of time.
What to look for in an answer:
- Experience working with microscopic techniques
- Ability to focus for long periods of time
- Inquisitive nature
Here are some examples of questions you might want to ask at the job interview. (For a more in-depth guide to asking questions in a job interview click here.) Dont feel obligated to ask about all of these at the first interview. See what the mood is like and use your discretion.
I’m a fourth-year medical student, and this Friday I have my first residency interview. I’m applying for pathology (obviously), and since this is my first time, I was wondering if anyone had any advice on how to get ready that is specific to pathology. (i) e. What kind of path knowledge are we expected to have and might need to demonstrate?) Do we need to prepare brief case presentations?
NOTE (edit): I saw a question that looks similar to mine a few posts below, but I’m interested in interview advice, not residency program advice. not there yet :).
FAQ
What questions do they ask in residency interview?
- Can you tell me a little bit about yourself?
- What made you want to become a doctor?
- Why did you choose this specialty?
- Why did you choose to apply to this program?
- Can you tell me about volunteer work you did?
- What do you see happening for you beyond your residency?
What do pathologists look for in residency?
- #1 Experience of the pathologists that actually train residents. Ensure that you are going to train to practice for the upcoming 40 years and not the preceding 40 years.
- #2 Breadth of diagnostic training. …
- #3 Economic model that drives the program.
What should you not say in a residency interview?
Don’t talk about your pets, hobbies, etc. In 30 to 60 seconds, discuss how you fit the resident profile of this particular residency by learning about their experiences, skill set, and personality. Practice calling your cell phone voicemail and listening to it with a partner or friend.
Is pathology residency stressful?
Burnout Is Inevitable One study found that up to 52 percent of pathology residents experienced burnout. 5%1 Based on my personal experience, I believe there is no question that every pathology resident will experience stress or fatigue to some extent while completing their residency—I know I did several times.
