In a Nov. 26 report, the American Medical Association notes that the evaluation process for physician residency applicants has shifted into a more “holistic” approach, placing a greater emphasis on “soft skills” during interviews.
Looking at a survey from the National Resident Matching Program, which collected responses from more than 1,000 residency program directors in the 2023-2024 Match cycle, the AMA highlighted three particular traits that stood out among interviewees.
1. Professionalism. John Andrews, MD, vice president of the AMA’s graduate medical education innovations, said that there are obvious areas where applicants may display a lack of professionalism in an interview. This may include rudeness to support staff, unprofessional attire or tardiness.
He also added that there are “hidden” professionalism lapses to note.
“When candidates speak in an unprofessional way about others, that doesn’t reflect well on you in an interview,” Dr. Andrews said. “In other words, reflecting on interactions in your training, perhaps at your own institution or with others, that either denigrate them or are really informal. I think those kinds of things lack professionalism, and you have to be a little bit cautious about that.”
He also added that applicants should avoid asking questions that indicate a belief that the program “owes you something,” such as focusing on salary data, which is often non-negotiable.
2. Self-reflection. Dr. Andrews warned against applicants “overstating” or “understating” their contributions to projects on their CV.
“If you were involved in a research project, or said you were on your application, be prepared to talk about it,” he said. Questions regarding experience or self-reflection are often phrased as “Tell me about a time when…” and responses should be genuine and authentic to an applicant’s lived and professional experience.
2. Interpersonal skills. Dr. Andrews highlighted the importance of communication skills and having the ability to work within a team.
Specifically, he said, interviewers are “looking for eye contact and the ability to hold a conversation, as well as the confidence to say you don’t know the answer to something — if you don’t.”
Interviewers are also looking for applicants to be a good listener, he said, and listening for genuine reflection in responses to interview questions.
“Make sure you answer the questions that you are asked,” Dr. Andrews said. “If you get asked a question and you say something that has nothing to do with the answer and use your response as a forum to promote yourself, that’s not going to be impressive.”
