How to Answer Common Residency Interview Questions (with Examples!)

Based on popular demand, I'm dropping another video on residency interviews, this time diving deeper into commonly asked questions while providing my thought process on answering them as well as sharing valuable examples! It's my longest video ever, but I'm sure the video timeline below will help you navigate through the video easily 🤪
Comment below your tips on answering common residency interview questions for your colleagues to benefit from! 😊
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[I RECOMMEND WATCHING MY VIDEOS IN HD QUALITY FOR BEST VIEWING EXPERIENCE]
2:57 General advice on interviews
4:26 Tell me about yourself
7:52 Why are you interested in this specialty?
8:55 Tell us about your biggest strength/weakness?
13:36 What are the differences in medical training/practice between US and your home country?
16:30 Where do you see yourself in 5/10 years?
19:35 Why are you interested in our program?
21:13 Tell me about your research
26:16 Tell me about a memorable patient encounter
30:40 Behavioral question: Handling a dispute
32:22 Behavioral question: Talk about a failure/mistake
33:30 Behavioral question: Talk about a difficult situation in life
35:21 Is there anything else you would like to add?
36:48 Do you have any questions for me?
👨‍⚕‍WHO AM I?
I am an IMG and a Resident Physician at the Mayo Clinic (AZ). I'm passionate about cardiovascular medicine, public health and patient safety. On the side, I mentor medical students/graduates including those pursuing US Medical Residency.
📺 THIS CHANNEL:
I'll be posting videos on my NRMP Match experience as an IMG, tips and advice for current and future Match applicants, and my take on interesting medical/research and lifestyle topics.
Please feel free to reach out on Instagram/Twitter/Facebook/LinkedIn/email if you need any advice regarding personal/professional matters, or if there is any other way I can help 😃
Instagram: @dr.baqal

[@vidyabollavaram7830]

Thank you Dr Baqal! Super informative videos. Found your channel at the right time 😁

[@drbaqal]

Glad to have you Vidya 🤩

[@VampireDiariesBiebs]

Thank you SO MUCH Dr Baqal! Your advice has been so great

[@drbaqal]

Thank you your kind words!

[@user-vc2vf9yh7x]

Thank you dr. Omar. It was a really great time listening to your advices as I prepare for interviews this season.

[@drbaqal]

Glad it helped! Wishing you the best. You'll do great 👍

[@ameyjoshi2958]

Thank you very much Dr Baqal! Very insightful!

[@drbaqal]

Thanks Amey!

[@mohammadsabdelaalm.d.4857]

Thank you Omar. Very Helpful. Have a blessed journey

[@drbaqal]

Rock on Mohammad! Wish you the best

[@Abatheeb]

Thanks Dr. Baqal! ❤
You’ve been always supportive and a great mentor for all students in our med school. Wish you all the best.

[@drbaqal]

Thanks for your kind words Ahmed

[@dr_shiva.]

Great insight! Thank you Dr Omar! 😀

[@drbaqal]

Glad I could help Shivakumar!

[@nehalkhalid4133]

great session and it's so helpful, thanks

[@drbaqal]

Happy to hear that Nehal. Thanks for your support

[@kiranwasiq8157]

really appreciate your interview tips ! Thanks

[@drbaqal]

Thank you Kiran

[@ayshashahzadi8849]

Thank you Dr. Omer. This is a great video to be very honest. Bless Up.

[@drbaqal]

Thanks for your support

[@sousbb7367]

Very helpful thank you!

[@reemsulaiman6796]

I watched this now, a few days before my first interview - I cant thank you enough for the great advice you've given!

[@drbaqal]

I'm sure you'll do great in your interviews. Go get em!

[@reemsulaiman6796]

@@drbaqal thank you so much! 😊

[@kucacman309]

Thank you very much. It is very helpful for interviews preparation.

[@drbaqal]

Glad you liked it Kuca!

[@mehwishalam5900]

Thank you Dr. Baqal very useful tips.

[@drbaqal]

Glad you found it useful Mehwish. Wishing you the best

[@gabrielmalcate2202]

THANK YOU, GREAT TIPS!

[@drbaqal]

Thanks for watching!

[@filomenopinto5416]

Thank you ❤️🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻

[@chiranjeevisainatham2438]

Thank you Dr. Omar.

[@drbaqal]

My pleasure Chiranjeevi. Thanks for watching

[@MarlinAMousa]

Thank you so much Dr. Baqal.

[@drbaqal]

Glad you liked it! Thanks for watching

[@ghassanjano4128]

Great insights

[@DoctorVens]

Perfectly concise and very informative! Great job.

[@drbaqal]

Thanks for your kind words Abdulla

[@amoghprabhakar6691]

Great advice! I have my interview next week so this helps a lot
5:13 - tell me about yourself
8:10 - why this specialty
12:47 - weakness

[@drbaqal]

Wishing you the best with your interviews! You'll nail them 💪🏽

[@user-dp2un3rx6v]

God bless you, thank you so much ❤

[@drbaqal]

Thanks for watching! Wishing you the very best 🙏🏼

[@farukhzadhafizyar8553]

Great 👍

[@mahnooshtaheri8549]

Thank You X100000!

[@drbaqal]

Thanks to you Mahnoosh🙌

[@TraneSFC12]

Quite an informative video Dr Omar! -Abdullah here!

[@drbaqal]

Thanks Abdullah!! 🙌

[@abdullahs22013]

all the love from Saudi and Thanks for a great video

[@drbaqal]

Thanks for your support!

[@waleedikram8367]

Very helpfull

[@drbaqal]

Glad you found it helpful Waleed

[@fizzazulfiqar3668]

thank you so much!!! so insightful.

[@drbaqal]

Thanks for your support Fizza💪

[@wardasalahuddin6221]

Hi Omar! Can you give an example about ur any life incident of how it is a continuous process of changing phases? Thank you

[@drbaqal]

Hi Warda. Thanks for your question. There wasn't a particular incident, but I would talk about the different countries I grew up in and how I got to interact with many different people, defining adaptability as one of my core traits

[@hudhaifahzahid8987]

🙌

[@drbaqal]

Thanks for your support dude😍

[@ayeshar91]

Do gaps matter after internship? Like career break, travelling, family commitment?

[@drbaqal]

Everyone has their unique circumstances, and everyone's application is unique. The impact of a gap on a candidate who has a prolific application strong in all domains may not be as much as someone with so called "red flags" eg attempt in Steps, no USCE, etc. In the end, if the gap was absolutely necessary and important to you, you should not feel bad about taking it. Family should ideally always come first. For the programs that like your application and extend you interviews, you will have the opportunity to elaborate more on the reasons for the gap in the interview as well.
Otherwise, I have seen especially AMGs take time after med school for further degrees eg MPH, MBA, or research, or for personal reasons. IMGs dont generally enjoy the same level of flexibility and accommodation.

[@mouradhamouda2713]

Which webcam do you use?

[@drbaqal]

Sorry just seeing this now Mourad! I spoke about it in another video. It was a random 1080p webcam from Amazon lol

[@ritta6436]

I think you forgot to edit. But thanks anyway

[@drbaqal]

Thanks for watching! I didn't understand what you meant by "I think you forgot to edit."

[@ritta6436]

@@drbaqal At some places you are repeating yourself
Especially at the end last or second last question. You can delete this comment if want. You did a great job with the content

[@ritta6436]

And there are 2 more instances where it happened

[@ritta6436]

I got no problem with that.
Just highlighting in case you want to do sth about it

[@drbaqal]

Thanks for pointing that out! I must've totally missed that 😁 Credits to you for noticing that haha💪

[@adrenalline8250]

yea tell the program you left india because you have global health initiative program to go to africa? hehehe...

[@drbaqal]

Two totally unrelated things. Unnecessary dig from someone named after a hormone and looks like a penguin.

[@MakeMoneyBySunday]

Ty

[@MakeMoneyBySunday]

Would love to see an actual interview

[@drbaqal]

I'll keep that in mind!