Residency Interview - The Third

The long autumnal drive from Chicago to Michigan was calmingly pleasant with beautiful weather and fall leaves changing colors all around. It was just what I needed to relieve the anxiety of another interview day on the horizon.


Sparrow Hospital

Driving through the streets, the college town feel greeted me as students busily went about their evening activities and the MSU campus seemed to remain lively even after the sun had set. I would soon be meeting some of the emergency medicine residents at Sparrow Hospital for dinner the night before my interview. The food was good and the residents friendly. Being the knowledgeable experts about their program, they answered our questions and introduced the program with great excitement. It was a perfect opportunity to get the inside scoop on a city and facility I knew little about. To make our stay that night more comfortable, reservations were made for us to stay on campus at the Kellogg Center, a business style hotel which was definitely a welcome opportunity.

After a brief meeting in the morning to highlight the program we had two personal interviews conducted by the program director and the assistant director. It was a comfortable exchange discussing program attributes and myself as a candidate. Afterwards we toured the main and secondary hospitals. I was amazed at the state-of-the-art feel as much of Sparrow was recently built. The emergency department was larger than any I had seen in my travels and seemed to have an endless supply of rooms. This undoubtedly met the demands of the community and appeared to do so in a great setting. There was ample time with current residents to have our questions answered and to really understand the underpinnings of the program. With a strong curriculum, experienced core faculty, wonderful facilities, and a supportive community this program definitely put on a great showing. The icing on the cake was a quick trip to the rooftop helipad that overlooked the city, simply beautiful.

As a final wrap-up to the day, we were invited to dine with residents and a member of the faculty. By this time, all of our questions had been answered and it was just a matter of getting "that feeling" of knowing it was the program; a decision that is too early to make. I am pleased to have experienced this program first-hand as it was rather enlightening.

Question of the Week

Where would you like to be in 10 years?

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