Association of Chinese American Physician (ACAP)successfully held its first in-person mock interview for residency applicants since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic on September 24, 2023, at the Sheraton LaGuardia East Hotel.
ACAP has been organizing mock interviews for residency applicants, primarily for Chinese and Burmese nationals who have received medical education abroad and have passed the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE), for over a decade, starting in 2013. These mock interviews have been of significant assistance to applicants on their journey toward becoming residents in the United States, helping them tackle the final hurdle – the interview. Over the past three years since the COVID-19 outbreak in 2019, ACAP had been conducting video-based mock interviews, and the return to in-person interviews this year received an enthusiastic response.
For this event, ACAP invited 43 interviewers from various medical specialties, including internal medicine, surgery, obstetrics and gynecology, pediatrics, pathology, neurology, radiology, psychiatry, and more. A total of 52 medical students actively participated in the mock interviews. Apart from applicants from the local New York area, participants also came from Canada, California, Florida, Texas, and other locations. Some of these applicants had graduated from medical school nearly two decades ago, while others had been involved in research for many years or worked in unrelated medical fields. Nevertheless, they all held the dream of returning to clinical practice in the United States and donning the white coat once again. Physicians from institutions such as Queens Hospital, Flushing Hospital, Mount Sinai Hospital, New York Medical College, and private practices generously devoted their precious weekend time to provide interview guidance and assistance to the residency applicants.
This mock interview event provided valuable opportunities for applicants to practice in a real interview environment. The professional guidance and feedback from interviewers helped applicants improve their interview skills, boost their confidence, and increase their chances of successfully entering a residency training program.
Dr. Mary Lee-Wong, an allergy specialist from the Chinese American Medical Society (CAMS), and Dr. Han Bao, a first-year resident at Jacobi Hospital, delivered lectures that analyzed interview techniques and considerations for residency applicants from different perspectives. The interactive discussions greatly benefited all participants.
Many children of physicians also actively participated as volunteers. Special thanks to sponsors Greater Hudson Financial and Queens Surgical Center for their strong support, ensuring the smooth execution of this event.
The event was attended by more than a hundred individuals, including interviewers, applicants, volunteers, ACAP’s board of directors, and the entire management team. Everyone actively contributed to the common goal, and this spirit of teamwork was a crucial factor in the success of the event.
