Please be considerate/professional when canceling interviews

[However, you may wanna think about the fact that many program directors are on a first name basis with each other and if someone is rude/unprofessional to one program, that info tends to find its way around......]

That's really mature. This isn't hard enough for us afterall.[/quote]

I have not cancelled any interviews. However, I have heard of programs calling applicants 1-2 days before an interview and offering them a spot. It is quite clear to all involved that this goes on with programs offering interviews too.

Unfortunately, this process has become so competitive/crude/cold that I really think students do feel that they OWE any professional courtesy to programs that they really are not interested in.

It is pretty clear that at most places I interview that noone has even read my application before I walk into the interview.....why should I spend $300-$500 dollars and take 2 days out of my life to come interview and noone has even taken the 15 minutes to actually read a personal statement I have worked a week to perfect and my letters that I have worked hard to earn.....the more interviews you go on the more you see what a crock this whole process is and soon become disheartened.....we dont owe these places anything....they all brag about how they have 300-500 applicants and its sooooooo had to choose 50 to interview.....so I have a really hard time feeling bad for programs.....

maybe this is a reality check that the whole application process is a mess

I can see both sides of the argument. Would applicants on here be mad if a program called you the day before you were supposed to be there and told you they changed their mind and didn't want to interview you after all? Hell yes they would be mad, so I can see how the original poster has a legit complaint. Having gone through the process though, I can also see how easy it is to become bitter and jaded to the application process as a whole. I do however think it is poor form to cancel at the last second (c'mon, leaving a message on voicemail the night before? Unless it was a emergency or something.)

As far as programs calling a day or two before, its probably b/c of people cancelling at the last minute. This puts you in a bind, b/c you are obviously in their "second tier" and last minute airfare is not cheap. However if you are hurting for interviews its hard to be picky

I have to admit I would feel a little bad if I knew that having canceled a little earlier would have gotten someone else on the waitlist an interview. I feel sorry toward the other applicant. I could care less about the programs. They all get enough interviewees, and most are interviewing at least 20 at a time, so your absence hardly changes anything.

I am sorry you have had a rough string of interviews. I too had some places i felt had no idea who I was until i was in the interview. Most places I went, however, actually knew quite a bit about me and several people actually had a list of prepared questions indicating they had done some homework prior to me being there. I can tell you that my chairman and program director both go over the applications personally when picking the people they want to interview.
Yes the process is less than ideal, but after applying to fellowships where there is no match, I wish that the fellowships would go back to a match. The issue there is that programs can/do start offering spots as they interview. Say you schedule 10 trauma fellowship interviews. At your second interview the people call you the next day and tell you the spot is yours but you gotta tell them within 24-48 hours or they will offer it to the next person they like. You may really like the place, but say you really had your eye on the place you have scheduled for a month later. Do you take the spot now or turn down a potentially good spot and take a chance you wont get another offer.
Yes the match/application process sucks, but its what we have got and is better than some alternatives

PerpetualP,

It is irresponsible, immature, and selfish to cancel an interview the night before (without a good reason). No one in his/her right mind wakes up one morning and says, "you know what, I don't think I'm gonna fly to California to interview tomorrow." You've got to have some idea that you're not coming at least a week in advance. Why don't you think of the over-worked and underpaid ortho coordinator/secretary that's taking the time to put you're application packet together, making copies of your application, and inserting you into the interview day itenerary. I see why attendings get pissed off about this. It's a subtle thing, but it may be an indication of the type of resident you're gonna be. No matter how you look at it. . . . . .it's poor form. It's inconsiderate to other applicants who could be offered spots. I tried to give at least 2 weeks notice when cancelling an interview. It's common courtesy.

After going through the Sports fellowship application process, arranging 10 interviews, and booking 4 flights only to get an offer at my 2ND INTERVIEW and getting about 4 days to respond, I think the residency match is a beautiful thing. It works in the favor of the applicants. I more or less had to eat 3 airline tickets!!!!! I didn't even get to see 6 places that I would have loved to see. So don't whine about how unfair the process is. It works! And if you've interviewed at a bizzillion places and decide that you've had enough and can't go on another interview that's your own fault for scheduling so many freakin' interviews!

I may be totally off base here, but I don't want the younger guys thinking it's okay to blow things off like that. It's a bad way to get your career in ortho started.

I REPEAT.....I HAVE NOT CANCELLED ANY OF MY INTERVIEWS AND AN NOT CONDONING THESE TACTICS.....I am just saying I can see why people might have a lack of loyalty after having been in this process for a while.....

My apologies.

its all good....

i just thought this might be a good place fore people to discuss things a little bit....

yo bonejock, where did you end up going for sports? I am going to carolinas med center for trauma.
One of our interns this year is from case and he remembers you. He is already gung ho about sports too. Must have caught that illness form you
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I'll be learning the secrets of Sports Magic Voo Doo at the Cleveland Clinic. One more year in Sunny Cleveland.

I've been raving about MSU Kalamazoo to just about every med student that rotates through, so I was glad to see we finally sent one your way. He's a good guy, so you owe me.

Congrats on the CMC thing. One of our chiefs did his trauma fellowship there last year. He had a great time. He joined a group down in Jacksonville, Florida this year.

You're not going to be at the academy this year are you? We go as 4's.

Where's Blake going to do his foot/ankle? Tell him I said what's up.

yeah scott is a good guy. My only complaint is that he came in and won our fantasy football league in his first year.
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Blake is doing foot and ankle in baltimore.

yeah, I am looking forward to spending a year in charlotte. I spent a month down there in september (we can do a couple of away months).

sorry, we go to the academy as cheifs. Thats ok, i would rather go to san diego in feburary than chicago!

Good luck

I've cancelled some interviews and in all but one case it was well in advance. I don't feel bad for the programs as long as they have at least a reasonable amount of time to find a replacement (if they want it). I've interviewed at a couple places that seemed to have already ruled some in and others out b/f the interview. If I had cancelled those interviews, I don't think they would have cared.

I have been annoyed/frustrated by people who cancel last minute. Our last interview date had two people cancel overnight or the morning of interviews. I understand if there are extenuating circumstances. But some of these were not. My main reason for being frustrated is not because I have to redo all my paperwork (I wait until the very last moment to get it all ready, for this purpose alone), but because we have candidates calling daily asking if we have any open spots and if I had another day's notice I could have gotten that person in. And just because he/she was last minute does NOT mean they have no chance. I know of several situations where wait listed, last minute fill ins matched. So I guess the point is to just try to be considerate of the job the coordinator is doing and that while that program might not interest you all that much, there's another candidate that was really hoping to get a call for an interview, even if it was last minute.
As for sharing info about candidates to other programs, I've thought about it only in a rage the morning of, but would never actually do it.

I agree with everyone... but a lot of these cancellations might also be due to the snowball effect of applicants being waitlisted at multiple places and having so many programs with interview dates in common.

I know when I applied, several of my co-applicants were placed in a position to have to cancel an interview within 2 days of the date because they were offered an interview at one of their top choices that then conflicted with their previously scheduled interview(s).

Some might argue that they should keep their promise to the program they scheduled the interview with first. I would disagree with this.

In a setup such as the ortho application process, there will always be things that are unfair. Unfair to the programs (last minute cancelations), unfair to the applicants (last minute offers). All you can hope is that everyone does their best to maintain their own integrity in the process.

Ortho is a very small world. Everyone does seem to know everyone. But, what makes it such a great speciality for me is that everyone tries to work things out together... and stick together. If you keep that same philosophy throughout the interview process, I think everyone will be happy. We should leave the incestual screwing of each other to the general surgeons : )