DebbieC
11-01-2006, 12:01 PM
Well, I had my first interview today. The director is a veritable encyclopedia of pharmacology, and I knew going in that there would be no drug on the face of the earth that I would know well enough to be able to answer all her questions, and that I would be best served by saying 'I don't know the answer to that question.' She avoids the drugs that she knows by your experience that you will know alot about.
The interview with her is stressful, and I've never heard of anyone having an interview with her that said different than that. However, I did not feel that she was hostile, like one of my friends said, nor do I feel that I blew it. I think that she really likes teaching and that the interview with her is equally about what you don't know, need to learn, and that she will teach you, as much as it is about what you DO know. I think that everyone she interviews pretty much has alot to learn and that is what the theme of the interview is. The one topic that I knew literally every answer to every question she could throw at me, she made a little ambivalent remark about me knowing alot about that. It's easy to think: damned if you do and damned if you don't, but I really think she already knows going in whether your background is good enough or not, and uses the interview to make sure you know that she is the teacher and you are the student.
The assistant director is the 'clinical scenario' person. Her goal, I think, really is to figure out how good your critical care knowledge base is. I felt she was warm, really interested, and supportive. I did better than fine on that section. She also asked about the finances. I had thought it all through, and I felt she and I had a conversation, rather than an INTERVIEW.
The director strongly suggested that I shadow a CRNA.
The director was concerned about how long I have been out of school, and was pleased that I have already purchased and started to read some of the books. She said that indicated I was a self-starter kind of person, and that I was a self-directed learner. On the other hand, the senior student with whom I spoke and the assistant director both adviced against 'pre-studying' and that there is very little one would get out of it. The senior student said that the most important piece of advice he could give is STAY CAUGHT UP and likewise: DON'T GET BEHIND.
All in all, I think it went well.
The next interview is in 2.5 weeks. The big-university, very-highly-rated program in town. But the toughest interview, by reputation, is the one that is over with.
I still feel like getting the interviews was a bigger hurdle that doing the interviews. Getting the interviews was entirely out of my hands.
Debbie
The interview with her is stressful, and I've never heard of anyone having an interview with her that said different than that. However, I did not feel that she was hostile, like one of my friends said, nor do I feel that I blew it. I think that she really likes teaching and that the interview with her is equally about what you don't know, need to learn, and that she will teach you, as much as it is about what you DO know. I think that everyone she interviews pretty much has alot to learn and that is what the theme of the interview is. The one topic that I knew literally every answer to every question she could throw at me, she made a little ambivalent remark about me knowing alot about that. It's easy to think: damned if you do and damned if you don't, but I really think she already knows going in whether your background is good enough or not, and uses the interview to make sure you know that she is the teacher and you are the student.
The assistant director is the 'clinical scenario' person. Her goal, I think, really is to figure out how good your critical care knowledge base is. I felt she was warm, really interested, and supportive. I did better than fine on that section. She also asked about the finances. I had thought it all through, and I felt she and I had a conversation, rather than an INTERVIEW.
The director strongly suggested that I shadow a CRNA.
The director was concerned about how long I have been out of school, and was pleased that I have already purchased and started to read some of the books. She said that indicated I was a self-starter kind of person, and that I was a self-directed learner. On the other hand, the senior student with whom I spoke and the assistant director both adviced against 'pre-studying' and that there is very little one would get out of it. The senior student said that the most important piece of advice he could give is STAY CAUGHT UP and likewise: DON'T GET BEHIND.
All in all, I think it went well.
The next interview is in 2.5 weeks. The big-university, very-highly-rated program in town. But the toughest interview, by reputation, is the one that is over with.
I still feel like getting the interviews was a bigger hurdle that doing the interviews. Getting the interviews was entirely out of my hands.
Debbie