My Residency Interview Experience at University of Arkansas, UAMS Little Rocks Neurology Program

Day Before

I interviewed at UAMS for Neurology residency. As most other Neurology residencies, the interview was conducted on Friday. The residency program at UAMS is categorical and is inclusive of 1 year of Internal Medicine which is a strong positive factor. The program did not provide accommodation or transporation. They had a pre-interview dinner it is a bit difficult to get to the dinner. Luckily, the hotel I stayed in agreed to take give me a ride to and from the hotel. Also, I was not sure of taking a cab and returning later at night as I had been told that Little Rock is not a very safe place. The dinner hosted 4 candidates accompanied by a chief resident and a PGY2 resident. The dinner was fine and the residents were friendly. The whole trip cost me about 320$ (230$ flight + 90$ hotel).

The Interview - About the program

The interview day started at 8 am with Grand Rounds. This was followed by an overview of the program by the program director. There were 4 interviews with the Program director, Department Chair and 2 other Professors. After the interviews we attended the Neurophysiology conference during lunch where one of the residents presented a topic on EMG. This was followed by a tour of the campus.

My opinion

I felt that UAMS is a good hospital. Everybody including the coordinator was friendly. She even asked people before the interview day whether they prefer specific kinds of food which I felt was nice. The residents rotate at UAMS as well as the VA hospital which is nearby. I felt that the hospital provides good learning opportunities. Couple of things which I was disappointed about were the fact that they did not provide transportation for dinner. Had my hotel not provided transportation, I would have been the only one not attending the dinner as everyone else had people in the area to get them to the dinner. Also, the fact that Little Rock is not the safest place might bump it down the list. Of course, the areas near the hospital are safe. But I could not find anything wrong with the program itself.