Perfect Residency Interview That PDs Would Rank #1 (Steal the Patterns) | Residency Mock Interview

0:00If you are a residency match applicant

0:01who wants to rank to match, one of the

0:04best ways you can ensure this is by

0:06seeing and learning from mock interviews

0:07of applicants who are ranked to match.

0:10We call these perfect mock interviews.

0:11Please make sure that you watch this

0:13video till the end cuz I'll be covering

0:14all the possible questions you can get

0:16during your residency interview. And

0:17also, not only focus on what the

0:19applicant is saying, also focus on how

0:21and why that applicant is saying what

0:23they're saying cuz that is where the

0:25gold lies. Use these frameworks to go

0:27crush your residency interview. Let's

0:29start.

0:29>> Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, boys and

0:31girls. We are jumping back into the

0:33interview masterclass, and today I have

0:35with myself

0:37a dear friend, Ms. Kinza Hussein.

0:40And she is an American medical student

0:43who's familiar with the whole interview

0:44process of like during residency and med

0:47school. So, she will be answering every

0:50question I throw at her, and I think you

0:52can learn from like the way she answers

0:54questions cuz I think they're going to

0:56be really polished. So, anyways, Kinza,

0:58would you want to say anything in the

0:59starting? Hi, everyone. Thank you,

1:02Monik, for interviewing me. I'm excited

1:04to be here. Okay. So, you are applying

1:07to what specialty, by the way?

1:09I'll be applying for general psychiatry.

1:11Okay, so all the questions will be

1:13attuned to that. So, please bear in mind

1:15you can change it to whatever specialty

1:17you'd like to. Just learn from her,

1:19don't copy her cuz, you know, if

1:21everybody copies her, then you're going

1:23to end up in trouble. So, please don't

1:24do that. First question. So, Kinza,

1:27tell me about yourself. Sure. So, I'm

1:30Kinza. I'm a fourth-year medical student

1:33from the University of New England

1:35College of Osteopathic Medicine. I was

1:37born in Boston, and I grew up in

1:39Westborough, Massachusetts. I am of

1:42Pakistani background, and I live with my

1:45parents and my three younger brothers. I

1:47have the joy of living at home because

1:50fourth-year medical school I was that.

1:52And I also have a cat named DaVinci, so

1:55that's my little family.

1:57For college, I went to Mass College of

1:59Pharmacy and Health Sciences in Boston

2:01and I majored in molecular biology. So,

2:04that opened a couple of doors for

2:06research for me. I researched at Boston

2:08Children's Hospital, Mass General

2:11Hospital. I did infectious disease

2:13there, which I loved. And then at Santa

2:15Fe as well doing some prostate cancer

2:16research. So, a couple of publications

2:19later, I decided I wanted to continue

2:21doing research through my gap year. And

2:24I also got interested in administration

2:26work. So, I when medical school started,

2:29I also started my MBA in healthcare

2:31management part-time and online.

2:34And I'm hoping to use that in the future

2:36for some leadership positions. And I

2:38want to participate in medical education

2:40as well.

2:41And so, once medical school started, I

2:44just started focusing on my studies and

2:46thinking about what I wanted to do for

2:47the rest of my life. And that's how I

2:49found psychiatry. So, I'm excited to be

2:51here for that reason. And just a little

2:53bit about myself outside of academics, I

2:56am a person who loves to go to the

2:58beach. I love to be outdoors and hike

3:00the White Mountains or some of the

3:02smaller trails in Maine. And I don't

3:05enjoy going to the gym, but I'm

3:06passionate about living a healthy

3:07lifestyle. So, I force myself to go like

3:09three times a week and stay active. And

3:13I do love watching TV. So, I'm a true

3:15crime junkie and I listen to all the

3:18crime podcasts as well. And with

3:21friends, I love game nights. I have

3:23hosted several of those and I would say

3:25my main hobby right now is being a

3:27social media content creator on YouTube.

3:30Wow, that was flawless by the way.

3:32>> Sorry, that was a little long-winded.

3:34No, so like basically I know that the

3:37usual rule of thumb is to make your

3:39answer between 90 to 120 seconds. But I

3:43think you can go off if you think it's

3:45right. And it's very much based upon

3:47like how the person is taking it if

3:49they're getting bored, maybe end it up

3:51like sooner cuz you can tell from their

3:53face if they're getting eased or getting

3:55bored. So, just like calibrate based on

3:57whatever the

3:59interviewer is doing at the moment. But,

4:01that was flawless, by the way. Like, you

4:03didn't know to stop at all at any

4:05moment. It was like a smooth sailing

4:07answer. And I think I got the gist of

4:09who you are. So,

4:11that's what it was for. And there's no

4:12right way to answer any question, but

4:14there are general good rules of thumbs

4:17which you followed. Like, just

4:18an all-around presentation. Who Kanza

4:20is. Secondly,

4:22why this program, Kanza?

4:24Yeah, sure. So, I'm going to answer that

4:26based on a program I recently

4:28interviewed with. I would like to attend

4:30your program for several reasons. The

4:33first reason being it's actually a new

4:34program and I'm attracted to that

4:36because I have rotated at other new

4:39programs before and I absolutely love

4:41the one-to-one attention that not only

4:44the residents get, but also the faculty.

4:47So, it creates like a wonderful, very

4:49unique relationship between the

4:51residents and who they're working with

4:53and I feel like that creates a really

4:56comfortable and healthy learning

4:57environment. And I've also spoken to

5:00some of your residents and they commend

5:02that. They say that they love working

5:04with their attendings, that it's a very

5:06supportive environment and that the

5:09faculty is actually really receptive to

5:11hearing feedback, which I think is

5:13wonderful for a new program. So, the

5:15residents get to grow along with the

5:17program and mold it into something

5:19perfect for the incoming residents.

5:22So, that would be my first reason.

5:23Another reason is location. I definitely

5:26applied geographically because I think

5:28being close to family and friends is

5:30really important during residency. So,

5:33being from Massachusetts, your program's

5:35a couple of hours away, but it's still

5:37within driving distance and I have some

5:39friends and family also in the

5:41surrounding area in New York. So, that

5:43would be exciting for me to see them

5:45more often. And I like that your

5:48program's not in the city. It's outside

5:50of the city and I'm from Maine. Like for

5:53the past 3 years I've been in Maine and

5:55I've had such a growing love for nature,

5:57hiking, going to the beach and such. So

5:59I find a lot of joy doing those

6:01activities and I can do those at your

6:04residency program. And then when I feel

6:06like I need a trip to the city, it's

6:08only an hour away and I can go to the

6:10city. So that would be another reason.

6:13And I would say another big reason that

6:15stands out without making this too

6:17long-winded is you have so many

6:19different like programs at your

6:22hospital. There is room to explore

6:25forensics, there is room to explore

6:27geriatrics, child and adolescent

6:30psychiatry, even addiction medicine,

6:32which is not the case for all other

6:34programs. So for someone who isn't 100%

6:37sure which fellowship she's going to

6:39pursue, I feel really confident knowing

6:41that I'll get experience in every single

6:43one. And that will help me be a better

6:45psychiatrist for my future patients.

6:48That was on point. I like that answer.

6:50And not a feedback per se on you, just

6:52adding it for the audience I think. The

6:54way you can frame this answer is pick up

6:57on the basic general principles of how

6:59she answered it and try to insert points

7:02on the program's website and what you

7:04really know about the program.

7:06Basically, if there's something special

7:07about them, please do insert it. Any

7:09kind of academic cuz you're not trying

7:11to always have fun. You are also here

7:13for learning. So please insert any

7:16points about the didactics or like what

7:19kind of a teaching experience or

7:20clinical experience is going to be. So

7:23why psychiatry? So during my third year

7:25rotation, I got the pleasure of seeing

7:28so many different specialties, but

7:29psychiatry really stood out to me

7:31because it was a lot more about mental

7:32health and stuff that you couldn't

7:34actually see or feel. It wasn't a broken

7:37arm that I was dealing with. It wasn't a

7:40gallbladder I was dealing with in

7:42surgery, it was mental health and those

7:44things are intangible and I've really

7:47enjoyed that aspect, like the gray area

7:49of that when it came to also treating

7:51these patients. There was never a right

7:54or wrong answer. There was never a

7:55medication that like we knew would

7:58definitely help that patient. So it was

8:00always trial and and error with that

8:02patient and a trustworthy relationship

8:04so that you could work together for your

8:06treatment plan.

8:08And I felt that with empathy these

8:10patients um also were really receptive

8:13to that and it helped their treatment

8:15whereas maybe empathy in a different

8:17specialty wouldn't go as far long of a

8:20way. So I enjoyed that and I also really

8:22love therapy. I have a personal

8:25experience with that where I feel like

8:26it has really improved not only my life

8:29but also a family member's life who has

8:31struggled with addiction most of their

8:34lives and helping that family member and

8:37advocating for that for their mental

8:39health has really helped increase mental

8:43health awareness in um my family and I'm

8:46of Pakistani background and in our

8:48culture it's not talked about as much.

8:51So as I learned more during my third

8:53year I was able to implement that into

8:55my own family and advocate for

8:57psychiatric treatment for my family

8:59member and I get to see them now get

9:01better with that type of treatment. So I

9:03have a huge motivation to go into this

9:05field to be a person who is Asian and

9:09increase that Asian mental health

9:11awareness in our community and I would

9:14like to use my vast platform online to

9:18start making videos and content geared

9:20towards increasing education in

9:23psychiatry mental health. I've been

9:25seeing a lot of misinformation being

9:27spread around on the internet for

9:29example about ADHD and ADHD medications

9:32and what it looks like and I think it's

9:34really important to have educated people

9:36on the platform sharing with the public

9:40what it really is so that people can

9:43help not only their friends and families

9:44but also themselves. So, that was great.

9:47The only fact that I can add to this is

9:49read books about your certain

9:50specialties. Psych has so many books.

9:52Surgery has so many books written by

9:54doctors and try to dive deep down into

9:56their reasons. That kind of reflects

9:58into your own reasons that that why you

10:00got into that specialty and why you like

10:02that specialty even though you can't put

10:03that into words. So, I think that was

10:05great. What are your future goals?

10:08Sure. So, my future goals are to join a

10:12residency program in general psychiatry.

10:15I do have hopes of potentially pursuing

10:17a fellowship as well. Right now I'm

10:19thinking either forensic psychiatry or

10:21child and adolescent psychiatry. I

10:24didn't know I would like working with

10:25kids as much as I liked it in my last

10:27rotation and I was only with them for a

10:29week and I found myself wanting more

10:31time. So, I want to explore that a

10:32little bit more.

10:34And after residency and a fellowship, I

10:38see myself working in a hospital in an

10:41acute inpatient setting and I have been

10:45thinking about maybe also part-time

10:46working in an outpatient setting at a

10:48clinic and doing psychotherapy since I'm

10:52such a strong believer in that.

10:54And then even looking further down the

10:56future, I do have hopes of opening my

10:59own practice one day and calling it a

11:02place of my own and have my own patients

11:04at that practice, but that's a lot

11:06farther down the line. Yeah, so a few

11:08pointers. It was great just so that the

11:10audience realizes what's going on. First

11:12of all, Kinsey's talking through a

11:13smile, which is something that I really

11:15like is you're smiling and you're

11:16talking, which I think a lot of people

11:18forget to do that and that kind of gives

11:20a friendly vibe, which is great and you

11:22have great eye contact. That really goes

11:24along with the interview. And there's

11:26this seamless transition between

11:27different points. You're not thinking,

11:29okay, one, two, like you're not giving

11:32any big gaps, so

11:33that going for a great interview. What

11:35are your greatest strengths, Kinza?

11:38That's a good question. So, I would say

11:40that my greatest strength, one of them,

11:42is that I am adaptable to situations, to

11:47people, to places. I would say, I don't

11:50know how I gained this skill, but I

11:52really like working with people. So, I

11:54think my adaptability with people first

11:57comes with enjoying working with them,

11:59enjoying building relationships and

12:01friendships with people. I feel like

12:03I've I really gained insight into this

12:05strength during my third year of medical

12:07school when every 6 weeks we had to just

12:11change out of our rotation and kind of

12:13start all over again at a different

12:14place with different people, a whole

12:17different specialty. I found myself I

12:19found it very natural for me to get to

12:22know new people every 6 weeks, build new

12:25relationships every 6 weeks, and it we

12:28made a very nice made a very nice work

12:30environment.

12:32So, I am confident that even moving

12:35forward I'll be able to work with

12:37different teams during my residency

12:39program, work with my co- my my

12:40colleagues and my attendings, and I'm

12:43really looking forward to that.

12:45And I'm also really adaptable to

12:47locations. I've moved around a lot

12:49during my third and fourth years, and I

12:51just enjoy seeing new places and meeting

12:54other people in those places. So, I'm

12:57excited for that part as well.

13:00Great. So,

13:01just like on how to answer this

13:03question, I think about what would make

13:04a great resident, and like adaptability

13:07is a great one cuz in a residency you

13:09have to go from one rotation to another,

13:10and that's something that's happening

13:11with me. The program director would love

13:13that, that you're adaptable, and that to

13:16supplementing it with an example is a

13:18great way to go that that the way you

13:20did it. Like you said that you were in

13:23medical school where you had to hop from

13:24one rotation to another, and you were

13:26able to get along with people, so that's

13:28great. And just think about what would

13:30make a great resident. Hard working

13:32would be one and giving an example when

13:34you like showed hard work. Like a team

13:36worker, a team player would be a great

13:38one giving an example of when you were a

13:40team player cuz that would again make a

13:41great resident. So think about what

13:43would make a great resident and try to

13:44put that into your answer and that's

13:47about it, right? I think that's the way

13:49to define this. Uh

13:51Again, great. No criticism on my part is

13:54additions, right? I have a question

13:56actually for you. Would you say that a

13:59interviewer should answer with just one

14:01strength or try to shorten it up so they

14:04can give two or three?

14:06So I would definitely try to put two to

14:08three. Okay. But at the same time, you

14:11couldn't have 10. You can have five, but

14:14here's the part, right? Calibrate. The

14:16look at the interviewer. If he's getting

14:18bored, you probably want to end with two

14:20or three, right? But if they're not

14:22getting bored, they're actually getting

14:23engaged and there's a conversation

14:25that's going on, you can even go to four

14:27or five if the interviewer is

14:28comfortable with that. But most of the

14:30times they're going to get bored, so two

14:31to three is a sweet spot. But again,

14:34have as many as you like, just like

14:35ammo. Have a lot of ammo on your side

14:37whenever you want to throw it out. Yeah.

14:39But yeah, just be mindful of the

14:41person's like

14:43their attentiveness and if they're

14:44getting bored and calibrate accordingly.

14:45I think that's that's the way to

14:47answer.

14:48>> One great advice I got as well and I'm

14:49sorry if this doesn't fit into your

14:51interview right now, but a lot of times

14:54people won't ask what your strengths or

14:55weaknesses are because they know that's

14:57an every template. So the trick is to

14:59try to answer that question in another

15:02question. So they still get an idea of

15:04what you're good at. Could you do that?

15:06Like how would you answer that in

15:08another question?

15:08>> Say they give you a question like a

15:10scenario question. Tell me about a time

15:12you had conflict with a patient or a

15:16team member. I feel like that one comes

15:18up a lot. You can talk about the

15:20scenario, but if you handled the

15:22situation well, then you can throw in a

15:23strength about how you're able to

15:27resolve conflict or how you're a team

15:30you're really good at working in teams

15:32and that it's really important to you

15:34for everyone to work well together. So,

15:37that would be a way you could throw it

15:38in. I definitely agree with that cuz not

15:41every See, the thing is there's there's

15:43this really good quote, "The bulk of the

15:44conversation falls on you." Which means

15:46that it's up to you to bring up those

15:48strengths. It's not up to them to ask

15:50you that question. What are your

15:51strengths, right? So, don't expect to

15:53get that question all the times. Just

15:55know that there has to be times like

15:57when you have to throw in those

15:58strengths even in other questions like

16:01you said, right?

16:02>> Yeah, you should form that interview if

16:03you're not getting the questions you

16:05want to get. Yeah. What are your

16:07weaknesses?

16:08Sure. So, I would say that one of my

16:10weaknesses is definitely that I am a

16:13people-pleaser. And I am working on

16:16this. So, what I mean by people-pleaser

16:18is that sometimes I will do things that

16:20I maybe don't want to do just to make

16:21other people happy and it'll be at the

16:24cost of my own mental health. And I've

16:25definitely done that before in the past

16:27couple of years. And it was really

16:29taxing for me during medical school in

16:32such a hot very demanding place to also

16:37give my energy to doing things or

16:39pleasing people and I really didn't need

16:41to or they really maybe didn't even need

16:44me. So, I'm trying to work on that. Um,

16:47I can't really give more specific

16:50answers other than small things like

16:53trying to tend to what my roommates may

16:55need of me, what my friends may need of

16:57me, support they may need that I may not

16:59be in the place to give to them just and

17:02doing it just to make others happy. And

17:05then at that cost, I don't have time for

17:06myself to unwind for the day and prepare

17:09for like the next day and that then I

17:11lose sleep over it and then after losing

17:13sleep, I'm not eating well and after I'm

17:15not eating well, it's like a domino

17:18effect, and then I'm not performing well

17:20on exams, and that's very That's not

17:22good for medical school. You want to

17:24definitely be as best You want to

17:26prepare and perform as best as you can

17:29to learn the best that you can for your

17:31future patients. So, I would say that

17:33I've worked on being a people-pleaser

17:36one by doing just a lot of reflection on

17:38like, why am I doing certain things? And

17:40I journal a lot in order to reflect and

17:43really understand like, why did I say

17:45that? Why am I doing that? Did I really

17:47want to do that? How could I have done

17:49it differently? And again, I never want

17:51to be someone who offends others, so

17:53doing it in a mature way is really

17:55important. So, I've improved my

17:57communication skills. I've definitely

17:59taken a few classes to do that and read

18:00a a few books as well. So, I would say

18:03that's how I'm working on it. I'm not

18:05perfect, but that would be my major

18:07weakness. So, a great answer. A few

18:11things that I want to point out. First

18:13of all, look at the weakness that you

18:14pointed here. It's a good weakness, not

18:16a bad cuz if you are a people-pleaser,

18:18that's going to serve people good in the

18:20residency rather than anything such as

18:22like, you're aggressive, you're too

18:24arrogant, or something like that, right?

18:25So, it's a good weakness, right? It's

18:27For example, if you There are two ways

18:29of saying the same thing. First of all,

18:31I'm not good with public speaking versus

18:33I'm very shy. You don't want to say I'm

18:35very shy cuz you can't be shy in front

18:37of patients. You can't be shy in front

18:38of people if you're a doctor, right?

18:40Mhm. But public speaking is okay cuz you

18:42don't have to do freaking public

18:43speaking in residency, right? So, it's a

18:46different way of saying it, but like the

18:48way you said it, I think was framed

18:50positively. And then secondly, you

18:52talked about how you were improving on

18:55it, which is another great point. And

18:57you talked about like, you inserted very

18:59cleverly journaling as well as reading

19:02books, which you should do.

19:03>> that from you.

19:05Yeah. Yeah, which is great cuz it could

19:07start another conversation about books.

19:09What have you been journaling about or

19:11like books, which other people wouldn't

19:12get a chance to do, but that was great.

19:15Just just a few pointers so that people

19:17understand what's going on.

19:18So, now we're going to shift to

19:20behavioral and situational questions,

19:22and she's going to be answering with

19:23examples. So, the first one is, "Tell me

19:26about your most memorable patient."

19:30Sure. So, I would say my most memorable

19:33patient would be patient X. I won't say

19:37her name. And I just had the pleasure of

19:39meeting her at my last rotation.

19:42And she was suffering from paranoid

19:45schizophrenia and psychosis. And

19:48the reason why I remember her so well is

19:50because every day when we interviewed

19:53her, she elaborated on the story of her

19:56life and what's happened in her life.

19:59And I think due to our bias knowing her

20:02diagnosis, a lot of it is that may not

20:04be true, that might be this her

20:05psychosis talking.

20:08But after finally like after two or

20:11three weeks of getting finally getting

20:12into contact with a family member, it

20:14took a while. We I finally learned that

20:17a lot of her story was true. She only

20:19had two delusions out of her the entire

20:21story she was telling us every day. And

20:23her two delusions were that she had

20:25heart cancer and that she had a son. But

20:28everything else, the story of how she

20:29went to college, how she didn't get

20:31along with her father, how she came home

20:34and XYZ happened, all of that was true.

20:36And I was mind-boggled that wow, like

20:38you really don't know until you gain

20:40collateral like how false or true a

20:43statement could be.

20:44And if you don't gain collateral, then

20:46you don't know how to better treat them

20:50or help them. Like we don't want to be

20:52pushing medications thinking she's more

20:54psychotic today than she was yesterday,

20:55for example.

20:57So, I would say she was very memorable

20:59for that reason. And the other reason

21:01also, she had her first psychotic break

21:03after I think it was her junior year of

21:05college, and that's when she left and

21:08she was just a smart, highly educated,

21:11independent woman

21:13before her psychiatric her psychotic

21:16break.

21:17And it is she had no history after

21:20getting collateral before that of any

21:22mental health illnesses. She didn't have

21:24depression or anxiety. She had a little

21:26bit of insomnia when she was young, but

21:28that was about it.

21:30So that just spoke volumes to me and it

21:32really affected me knowing someone

21:34around my age had gone through that and

21:36it just made me really think like

21:39how if there was another patient like

21:41her before she went off to college, how

21:42could we have prevented it?

21:44What what steps could we have taken?

21:46Maybe we could have paid more attention

21:48as primary care physicians about her

21:50family history and that's because

21:51schizophrenia was in her family history.

21:54So maybe try to help have her not

21:56undergo situations that may cause high

21:58stress.

21:59But those were just some kind of the

22:01things I was thinking about and I would

22:03say that's why I remember her. Yeah, so

22:06um that was a great answer, but yeah.

22:09No nothing more to add to it, but

22:10everybody has a different memorable

22:12experience, but uh talking about what

22:14you learn from that experience is great.

22:16Like you learn something from it as well

22:17as like how did you add to that

22:19patient's experience could also be great

22:20according to ACGME six core

22:22competencies, right? You can insert

22:23anything like adaptability or medical

22:25knowledge or patient like patient based

22:28learning. So tell me about a time when

22:30you dealt with a difficult patient. So

22:33one patient that comes to mind, I

22:34wouldn't say that this was a difficult

22:36patient. I can't say any of the patients

22:38I've personally worked with, I never

22:41thought any of them were difficult cuz I

22:43knew that they were all sick and that

22:45they just they were there for help and

22:46the fact that they came to the emergency

22:48room to get help just spoke volumes to

22:50me.

22:51Uh there was one patient who was elderly

22:54and he had um schizophrenia as well. He

22:58had actually a late onset schizophrenia

23:00and there was a question of Parkinson's

23:03and dementia as well on top of that due

23:05to some of his symptoms. So he was

23:08difficult in terms of trying to figure

23:09out the best treatment plan. We tried a

23:11few different antipsychotics

23:13just first line antipsychotics and they

23:15were not working. So we had to

23:17ultimately put him on clozapine and

23:20clozapine was working. So we monitored

23:22him every week his like CBC and then it

23:26was hard to figure out if his side

23:30effects were due to the clozapine or if

23:33it was due to his Parkinson's.

23:35And we couldn't do that without taking

23:37him off his medications which we didn't

23:38want to do because we were trying to get

23:40him to get better so we could send him

23:41home. So I think his treatment plan was

23:44just a little bit complicated and due to

23:46the one of the side effects can be

23:48difficult be talking and he had a lot of

23:51mumbling and a lot of drool. So you

23:54really need to had to sit there and

23:56spend time with this patient to

23:58understand him and you have to talk to

24:00them to know if they're doing better

24:01that day. So I always as a medical

24:04student you have more time so I took

24:07advantage of that and built a bond. I

24:09would always go back to the floor after

24:11rounds to talk to him more and try to

24:13really understand what is he saying.

24:16And because I spent my time with him I

24:18was able to help during rounds every

24:20morning when we were trying to get

24:22through patient meetings as quickly as

24:24possible to be like this is what he's

24:26saying. I can understand him and yes

24:27today he actually is doing better so we

24:30can try start start working on a

24:32discharge plan and ultimately we were

24:34able to send him home because I was able

24:37to advocate for him by being able to

24:39understand his speech which would be

24:41very difficult if you didn't sit with

24:42him for an extra amount of time.

24:45Great one. I had another one like where

24:48one of the patients tried to attack us

24:50cuz he had schizophrenia and psychosis

24:53and he actually ended up spitting on my

24:55attending's face and my attending did

24:57not react to it. I remember like we

25:00really like calmed him down, put him in

25:01restraints. We were very gentle with it.

25:03And my attending was like very

25:04down-to-earth and he actually said these

25:06really good words, kind words. Which was

25:09like, we are not here, we are not here

25:11against you, we are here with you and we

25:13are not trying to put you in a prison,

25:15we are just trying to help you. And that

25:17kind of calmed the patient down. And I

25:19think I learned a lot from that like on

25:21how to approach difficult patients. And

25:23we I did give him his antipsychotic and

25:26he did like calm later and he did say

25:28sorry later, but yeah, I learned a lot

25:30from this on how to frame the way

25:32conversations go with patients. So,

25:34yeah, that was mine, but not not a Great

25:37example. Yours was great too. Like you

25:39understanding his difficult speech which

25:41ended up leading to the discharge. Tell

25:43me about a time you had a conflict with

25:45a team member and how did you resolve

25:47it?

25:48Yeah, sure. So, the reason why I'm able

25:50to say this

25:51immediately without thinking about it is

25:54because this happened a couple of months

25:55ago on my first audition rotation.

25:59And I was working one-on-one with an

26:01attending. And again, since I'm a

26:03medical student and we have the pleasure

26:05of having extra time, I would spend that

26:07time talking to other patients on the

26:09floor that weren't directly working with

26:11my attending.

26:13And so, I was talking with this other

26:14patient and he was just he was just

26:16feeling a little frustrated that day.

26:18And most of these patients are I was on

26:20an addiction detox center just to paint

26:23the picture. So, he was talking about

26:25his co-occurring depression.

26:28And he felt like he wasn't being

26:29listened to and he wanted, you know, a

26:31different treatment team. And he said,

26:34"Maybe if I said that I was going to

26:37kill myself in my room, maybe then

26:39people would listen to me." And I

26:40provided him support and listened to

26:42him, but I felt, you know, I felt okay,

26:44he's asking for help, how can we get him

26:46help?

26:47So, I asked my attending, I said, "Hey,

26:49like

26:50um is it okay for me to write a quick

26:52progress note based on a conversation I

26:53had with another attending's patient?

26:56And he said, "Yeah, sure, that's a great

26:57idea. Go for it."

26:59And I talked to some of the nurses on

27:00the floor like, "This is what he's

27:02experiencing." And they also advocated

27:05for writing a progress note. And they

27:07said that would help him get additional

27:09psychiatric treatment if it was

27:11documented. So, I wrote a progress note.

27:14And then the next day, I came to learn

27:16that patient's attending was really

27:18upset with my note. Like, very angry,

27:20very upset. And I was I actually took

27:23that sarcastically at first. I was like,

27:26"Oh, you're just being you're sarcastic.

27:27You're kidding around with me." He was

27:28like, "No, he's very upset." And I was

27:31like, "Oh, I'm so sorry. What What

27:32happened? What did I do? What did I

27:33say?" And I came to learn that my note

27:36was very inflammatory.

27:38Because I used quotations like, "The

27:40patient said he's going to kill himself

27:42in his room. He wants treatment. He's

27:45depressed." And that was the first time

27:47ever that I was introduced to the legal

27:49consequences in psychiatry for the kind

27:52of language that you use in your notes.

27:54And you have to be very careful. So, my

27:56attending that I was working with kind

27:57of educated me on that. And I felt very

28:00bad that I didn't seek consent from the

28:03actual attending for writing this note

28:06in the first place. So, I I offered I

28:09was like, "I would like to speak to him

28:11and apologize to him." So, I did that

28:13and it ended up going really well. I was

28:15just honest about where I was coming

28:17from. And I profusely apologized for the

28:20mistake I made. And I said, "This is a

28:22great learning opportunity for me moving

28:24forward." And he took it really well. I

28:27think if I hadn't apologized, there

28:28would always be that kind of awkward

28:31what would you call it vibe between us.

28:34But after that, we actually became like

28:37good colleagues after that. You know, he

28:39gave me advice for applying to

28:40residency. And he told me he'd be happy

28:42to see me at his program. So, I think

28:43that speaks volumes to how an apology

28:46how long of a way an apology can go.

28:49That was great. Again, like uh the way

28:51you handled the conflict by uh

28:53apologizing and having empathy towards

28:56him and what happened and just like

28:58understanding your mistake. I think that

28:59goes

29:01uh great way towards communicating that

29:03you're going to be a good resident,

29:05which is what people want cuz you're

29:06going to be making mistakes. I'm going

29:08to be making mistakes, right? So, at

29:10least we can apologize.

29:11So, tell me about a time you worked in a

29:13team and what responsibilities did you

29:16have in that team? Sure. I worked in so

29:18many different teams. Part of a research

29:20team, some responsibilities I had was my

29:24day-to-day lab responsibilities, working

29:26in a bench lab, doing experiments like

29:28ELISAs, different assays, cell culture.

29:34Uh I would say I've also helped write

29:36two different papers. So, I've helped

29:39with not just the writing part, but also

29:41the editing part. And I would say the

29:43last big responsibility would be helping

29:45create surveys on Redcap for research.

29:48So, those were my some of my

29:49responsibilities there. On other teams

29:52in school, for example, I was always

29:53part of like student government,

29:55orientation leader. And I played

29:57different roles like secretary or

29:59treasurer. So, I would uh always be on

30:01the communication side, responding to

30:03emails, taking notes for meetings.

30:06And more recently, I was also um medical

30:10chair for a small community organization

30:14called Apex Youth Connection and we work

30:16with little younger kids in our

30:18community who come from like low-income

30:21families and we help them to prepare for

30:23the world. We hold seminars about

30:26getting jobs, job skills they should

30:27have. And for me as medical chair, I

30:30actually talked a lot about lifestyle. I

30:32heard that these kids were drinking

30:33Monster and staying up until 3:00, 4:00

30:36a.m. playing video games. And I was

30:37like, "Oh my god, you're like 12 and

30:39that's poison for you. So, we need to

30:41talk about that." So, I did a quick

30:43little fun seminar about like how these

30:44energy drinks are not good for you and

30:46maybe what they can do alternatively if

30:49they're not going to quit right away.

30:51I'm just talking about what these things

30:52can do to you long-term and I know

30:54they're kids, so they're not going to

30:55really understand or see it, but I tried

30:57to make it I tried to put it in context

30:59for them. So, those are some of the

31:01roles that I've played more recently

31:02outside of my roles and rotations. That

31:05was great cuz a lot of people what they

31:07would do is they would again inject the

31:10role of a medical student back in into

31:12the conversation which would make it

31:13boring, but you actually

31:15took it

31:16in a different route.

31:17>> about to do that. I was going to be

31:19like, "So, during my rotations but I was

31:20like they probably don't care."

31:22>> too.

31:23Yeah, that'd be great cuz you've already

31:24told me everything, right? Like a lot of

31:26that regarding your audition rotation.

31:30The conflict got resolved hopefully. All

31:33right.

31:34Yeah, that was great and I loved like

31:36how you went from one response not just

31:38you didn't just focus on one

31:40responsibility, but on how you played

31:42different parts in different teams and I

31:44think that just was again it's it's a

31:47good thing towards residency cuz you can

31:49be like the team leader at one time and

31:52then you can be a follower at the same

31:54time which is again like a great

31:56interplay cuz we do have people in

31:58residency sometimes who don't want to

32:00play the follower who just want to be

32:02the team leader all the time. So, that

32:04was great by the way. Yeah, that's a

32:06great point. I would have never thought

32:07of it that way. Yeah. So, tell me about

32:11a difficult obstacle you had to overcome

32:13in your life.

32:15There have been several. I could write a

32:17book on it.

32:19Yeah.

32:19>> Okay, let's see. I'm going to give you

32:21two answers.

32:23The first answer I'll give you was my

32:24step one obstacle which I'm sure a lot

32:26of students talk about. That's why I

32:27have another one I'd like to talk about,

32:29but I performed below average on step

32:32one and I was devastated because I

32:34thought I prepared so well for that

32:37exam. I studied so hard that it actually

32:40ruined my mental health, and that was

32:41probably the first mistake I made.

32:44I did all the Anki decks I could find,

32:46which is probably the second mistake I

32:47made. I used way too many resources, and

32:51that That's me reflecting back after the

32:53fact on maybe why that exam didn't go so

32:56well.

32:57And I think that how much it hurt my

32:59mental health was probably the biggest

33:00thing. I thought I was doing the right

33:02things. I I was going to the gym every

33:04other every 2 days, and I was like,

33:06"Yeah, that's fine. I'm taking care of

33:08my mental health." But, I was listening

33:10to Goljan lectures while I was at the

33:12gym. So, I was like feeding my brain

33:14Step 1 material while I'm at the gym.

33:17So, it wasn't a real break.

33:19And after all that reflection, I had to

33:23build up a lot of courage to change my

33:25habits to study for Step 2.

33:28I had I quit Anki. I decided I know I've

33:30been using this resource for 2 years

33:32now, but I don't think it it's working

33:35for me for standardized exams like it

33:37did for my school exams, because I'm not

33:39the type of person that can like

33:40strictly do the same thing every single

33:44day. So, I struggled to do those Anki

33:46cards every day. And I also lost the

33:49context. And if you don't know what Anki

33:50is, it's just a flashcard system. Doing

33:53flashcards, I lost the story of like how

33:57you get heart failure, what happens,

33:59like the physiology. I was just

34:00memorizing facts. So, I had to go a few

34:03steps back, and I relearned the

34:05physiology. I watched a lot of YouTube

34:07videos. I used my books to really

34:09understand like the heart, cuz that was

34:11my toughest subject. And after I

34:13understood like how a normal heart

34:15works, I was like, "Okay, now let's

34:17learn the pathology."

34:19And the other big thing I changed was I

34:21did I was like, "Fine. Everyone says

34:23just do UWorld practice questions. I'm

34:25just going to do that." And that was the

34:27other thing I changed. I was like, "I'm

34:28just going to force myself to to the

34:30questions every day instead of telling

34:32myself I need to do content review

34:34first. I was like, I'm going to just do

34:36the questions and use that as content

34:37review, and that really worked for me,

34:39and I was able to improve my score by

34:4219 points, which was big for me. Okay.

34:47Yeah. A few points. Again, one one of

34:49the best things you did in this answer

34:51is you addressed a weakness in your

34:53application, which they might not even

34:56ask you about cuz the other weakness

34:59wasn't like was where you were a people

35:00pleaser, I remember.

35:02So, here the weakness was like,

35:04according to the system. I don't say

35:05it's a real weakness. I'm just saying

35:06the step scores are looked at, but you

35:08addressed it really well, that what

35:10really happened, and actually showed

35:13reflection that you are a person who can

35:15reflect.

35:16Which was great, and that you had

35:18initiative to improve on it, and you

35:20actually reemphasized that, right? Like

35:23your scores, how you actually got 20

35:25points ahead of your step one score,

35:27which is great, right? Cuz remember that

35:31these people are like, the interviews

35:32are looking at thousands of

35:33applications. They don't remember every

35:35detail. So, you have to keep bringing

35:36your application points in front and

35:39address your weaknesses if if possible,

35:41which which I thought was great. Yeah, I

35:43actually I'm I miscalculated the math

35:45like real miscalculated it. 29 points is

35:48how much I increased it by. Wow, Kenza.

35:50So, you need a math class, too.

35:53I'm just kidding.

35:5629 points. That's a big improvement. So,

35:59I think like just emphasizing that is

36:01great. Tell me about a time your

36:02integrity was tested. So, in college, I

36:05took a lot of science courses with my

36:08best friend, and as best friends, we sat

36:11next to each other.

36:12And one thing I struggled with was I

36:17science was like a stronger subject for

36:19me, so I performed well on my exams,

36:22and my friend, my best friend, struggled

36:25a little bit more in those classes. Mhm.

36:27So, she actually asked some help during

36:30exams as in like she wanted to cheat off

36:33of me during the exams.

36:35And I will say the first time I was

36:37taken aback and I let it happen and that

36:40was a mistake on my part. But moving

36:43forward, I really didn't feel good about

36:45it and I had to tell her like, "Hey, I

36:48don't really feel comfortable with this.

36:51I'm just so scared that we're going to

36:52get caught and that'll be bad for both

36:54of us. So, let me just help you like

36:56let's just study together for the exam

36:58instead and we'll probably get the same

37:00grades." So, I I did that moving

37:03forward. I would say that's how my

37:04integrity was tested in college.

37:07Wow. I mean

37:09the point is you might like there are

37:11going to be questions you're never going

37:12to have the perfect answer for, but like

37:15just trying to improvise goes a long

37:17way.

37:18It's a good thing. I I like the answer.

37:20I think another scenario you can put in

37:22is probably something clinical if

37:25possible maybe regarding like some kind

37:28of medicine. If you I don't have any,

37:30but if you have any like integrity-based

37:32scenario in medicine, I think that'd be

37:33great, too.

37:34If you can add like cuz this question

37:36does get asked. So, just be careful,

37:38right? Okay, tell me about a time you

37:40had a difficult ethical decision to

37:42make. So, one moment that comes to mind

37:46is probably the first time I saw a

37:51patient get blue papered, which in Maine

37:54means that they have to stay there at

37:56the inpatient psychiatric facility

37:59against their will.

38:01I was like really taken aback by that.

38:04So, this patient came in and she was

38:05manic and that's why she was

38:08hospitalized. She was running around

38:10outside in the street in heavy traffic,

38:12so it was very unsafe and that's how she

38:14came to us. And when she was blue

38:16papered, she was devastated. She was

38:17crying. She said she wanted to go home

38:19and I was like she's probably so scared

38:21knowing that we're not letting her go

38:22home. That's probably making her more

38:24scared, even though otherwise you

38:26probably would have been fine with

38:27seeking treatment here. But and I also

38:29felt like the attending I was working

38:31with at the time was a little harsh and

38:33was a little scary about it. Sorry,

38:35we're blue papering you. You will need

38:37to sign this form and that's it. And

38:40understandably, I'm sure he's had to do

38:42that so many times during his career.

38:45He's very into his career that it's just

38:47become a routine thing for him. But for

38:49me, seeing it for the first time, I was

38:51like, "Hey, I'm feeling scared for her."

38:53So, I know that's the law, but I thought

38:56it was an issue it was an ethical issue

38:58for me. I felt like her consent was not

39:02being appreciated and that if she wants

39:03to go home, she should be allowed to.

39:05But at the same time, just like through

39:07learning about the process a little bit

39:09more, I came to understood that like she

39:12as upset as she was still manic. So, if

39:14we did send her home, it would be unsafe

39:16for her and possibly other people, too.

39:18She would get into a car accident and if

39:20she decided, even if she didn't get

39:22hurt, someone else could. So, I talked

39:25my talked to myself about that. I tried

39:27to play different scenarios and instead,

39:29I went and talked to her and I told her

39:32I tried to calm her down and she really

39:33likes meditating, but there was no

39:35session happening that day. So, I did a

39:37little one-to-one meditation session

39:39with her cuz I had my phone on me and a

39:42Spotify podcast. So, we did that

39:44together and she did calm down and I

39:45tried to just under tell help her

39:47understand the process the way I was

39:49under standing it. And I think after she

39:51understood and was a little bit more

39:52educated about it, she didn't feel as

39:54upset about it. So, I think that went a

39:56long way. That was okay, like I know. I

39:59just I don't have a good one on mine.

40:01Yeah, yeah,

40:02but see that's the thing, you need to

40:03improvise even if you sometimes don't

40:05have a good answer. You can't just can't

40:07shut up, right? So, I understand I had a

40:10similar scenario where the ethical

40:12decision was like so we saw this

40:13patient, 26-year-old female presented

40:15with the worst headache of her life,

40:17fevers, and she tried Tylenol, didn't

40:20take away her headache. So, we gave her

40:22like ketorolac and it actually calmed

40:24her headache down, but we were concerned

40:25about meningitis now. Mhm. Because the

40:27way she described it. And if you have

40:30meningitis, you need ICU level care,

40:32right? But this patient, when we told

40:35her that this could be it and that she

40:37might need a lumbar puncture,

40:40she got scared and she wanted to go back

40:42home. But the issue was she had this

40:44kind of a flu and we thought what if it

40:46is it's H. influenza and that can spread

40:48to her children. Maybe it could do so it

40:50could cause meningitis in her whole

40:52family. So, we were really concerned

40:54about that and we were trying to educate

40:55her that like you shouldn't go home

40:58because that could cause other issues in

41:00our family. Other members could get

41:01sick, but she just couldn't understand

41:04it and really wanted to leave. I tried

41:07my best. I was there with like her for

41:09an hour, tried to educate her. She went

41:12with a decision to and fro. Sometimes

41:13she wanted to stay, sometimes she wanted

41:16to not stay. We tried to even do a

41:17lumbar puncture, but but we were

41:19unsuccessful in doing it and in the end

41:22she ended up leaving, which like was

41:25into her rights, but I did have to I did

41:27want to make her stay, but even against

41:29my will I had to let her go cuz that's

41:31how patient laws are and I think that's

41:34a good thing, right? Cuz they have

41:35autonomy. I think that was a good lesson

41:37as well as a hard decision to make just

41:39to let her go. But yeah,

41:42that that was my difficult ethical

41:43decision to make was just to let her go

41:45even though she might have meningitis.

41:47But we just couldn't do anything about

41:48it. We did give her a dose of

41:50antibiotics if that goes anyway like

41:52ceftriaxone plus vancomycin and I hope

41:54that helped her and we did tell her that

41:56if she wanted to come, she can come back

41:58anytime she wanted to. But yeah, I don't

42:02know if she came back ever cuz

42:04I was in the ED for a while, but

42:06that was my That's a good answer. That

42:08kind of shows that you have medical

42:10knowledge cuz you're throwing in some

42:12diseases and medications that treat the

42:14diseases and two that you really tried

42:17and spoke with the patient. You said

42:18that you stayed with her for an hour, so

42:19it shows that you care. She would rant

42:21back and forth. She was like, "I want to

42:23stay." Then she was like, "I don't want

42:25to stay." Cuz like I thought I was just

42:26coming for a headache and some blood

42:27work and now you guys are trying to

42:29stick a needle up my spine. And I'm

42:31like,

42:32"Sorry."

42:34That's important cuz I think for some

42:35patients you will probably convince them

42:37to stay. So it's important to

42:40to spend that time. Yeah, but that

42:42ethical decision was just so hard to

42:44make was just thinking about what if our

42:46disease could infect whatever she had

42:48could infect her family. So letting her

42:50go. We did try our best to you know tell

42:53her that help is always available if you

42:55want to come back. And yeah, that was

42:57it. But that's just an example. Don't

42:59copy it, but think about

43:01anytime in your life when you had to go

43:04through that ethical decision when you

43:05knew that this was the right thing by

43:07your part, but by law that wasn't the

43:09part that like the right way to do it.

43:12But yeah, that that was my part on it.

43:15So that's about it, right? So that was a

43:18great session. Thank you. Thank you. For

43:21what do you call this? This is like a

43:23fire chart

43:24interview where we you just were

43:27keeping your head in it. Yeah, bro. I'm

43:29like sweating through my shirt now.

43:34But it was great. It also gives me a

43:36good I I think ethics and integrity are

43:38two answers that I can try to work on.

43:40Yeah, definitely. So thank you guys for

43:43watching. Do check out Kinzah. I will

43:45mention I'm going to mention her

43:48channel's link down in the description

43:51as well as the comments. And do reach

43:53out to her if you want to on Instagram.

43:56That's something that I'll be

43:56mentioning, too. And thank you for

43:58watching. Kinzah, anything you want to

44:00say?

44:01Any goodbyes? A lot of people are going

44:03through the match right now. Yeah, no.

44:05Good luck to everyone going through the

44:07match. Interview season is scary. I'm

44:09going through it right now for

44:10psychiatry. But I think the biggest

44:13thing I will say having sat on an

44:15interview committee during medical

44:17school for potential applicants, the

44:20biggest thing that went a huge long way

44:24I would say the biggest thing that I

44:26noticed in other

44:28physicians and administration noticed

44:30was when the patient was not the

44:31patient, the student was smiling. I

44:34think That's why I try to do that as

44:36much as I can. One, it shows that you're

44:39more relaxed and two, it gives off like

44:41a good energy to the person you're

44:43talking to. I think that's like a really

44:46huge major key thing to an interview and

44:48not everyone does it cuz when you're

44:49nervous, you don't really notice maybe

44:51that you're not smiling. So do a mock

44:53interview, record yourself so you can

44:55look back on the recording and see what

44:57you were doing maybe wrong or what you

44:59can improve on.

45:01So like the way I like to talk about it

45:03is talking through a smile. And that's

45:05something that PickUpLines does. So

45:07there's this channel on YouTube, her

45:08name is PickUpLines and she's a it's a

45:11cooking channel and she talks through a

45:13smile so well. I love the way she does

45:15it. So I like try to learn from that.

45:18There's also this if you think about it,

45:20there's this guy on Instagram, TikTok

45:23and he has this he's a cook and he cooks

45:26like large ethnic meals. I think he's

45:28Turkish, I'm not sure. But he has this

45:31like huge smile on his face the whole

45:33time while he's That's like his

45:35trademark. That's his thing. He's just

45:36like smiling all the time he's doing it.

45:38And you just love watching his videos

45:40cuz he's smiling and he makes you happy.

45:43And then he did another video recently

45:44where he's frowning and doing all of it

45:46at the same time like he just doesn't

45:48stop frowning and it actually makes you

45:49depressed. So it makes a huge difference

45:52like the energy that you give off to

45:54your interviewer. Yeah, body language is

45:56everything, right? Like All right, if it

45:59comes if your conversation comes through

46:00the right body language, only then will

46:02it make an impact. Otherwise, if you're

46:04frowning all the time while delivering

46:06excellent answers, I don't think that's

46:08going

46:08>> Yeah, it is just as important as what

46:11you're saying. Like you have to do both.

46:14Yeah. So, thank you, by the way, and

46:17it's time to say goodbye.

46:18All right. Thank you. See you. Bye.