My Residency Interview Experience at University of Nebraska Medical Center

Day Before

I interviewed at UNMC for Neurology residency. This residency is in conjunction with Creighton University Medical center which is also in Omaha. I took a flight to Omaha the previous day which cost about 250$. I stayed at Comfort Inn which was few miles from the medical center. It costs about 100$ a day but it is quite comfortable and provide a complimentary breakfast in the morning. The program did not provide accommodation but they provided a list of hotels and discount rates. Be sure to call these hotels and confirm they have a shuttle to and from the hospital. Most of the hotels do provide a shuttle like the one I stayed in. I felt it is better to pay 20$ more for such a hotel and avoid the hassle of hiring a cab.

The Interview - About the program

The program interviewed 3 candidates in a day. The interview day started at 8 am with Grand Rounds. This was followed by 2 interviews each lasting for 30 minutes. We then had a tour of UNMC followed by another interview. Next was lunch during the noon conference followed by a meeting with all the residents. The Chief resident then took us to Creighton University and provided us a tour of the hospital. This was followed by a the program director talking about the program and then an interview with him for half an hour.

The Interview - Questions Asked

The common quesions asked in the interview were ‘Tell me about yourself’, ‘Why the chosen specialty?’, ‘Why you?’, ‘Tell me an interesting case you saw in medical school’ and ‘5 year and 10 year plans’. The faculty were all pleasant. The hospital has good facilities. It has rotations at UNMC, Creighton and the VA. The only downside to the program is that its an advanced program and in one of their years they have only 2 residents because in that year, a resident matched into UNMC without a prelim position. So make sure you always apply to many prelim and transitional year programs to be on the safe side. Also, it puts an added strain on other residents if there is one less resident in the program. Overall, a good program but unlikely to be at the top of anybody’s list as it is an advanced program.