I just had, what i believe, my last interview for hospitals. I applied to only a few hospitals based on a very stringent criteria. I figured, if i were going to burn thousands of dollars, travel halfway around the world, I might as well apply only to hospitals I would get a great training and give me a chance to go into cardiology fellowship. I was blessed enough to be considered among my top ten lists of hospitals.
When i got here to the US, i knew that first impressions meant a lot so i had, like what all those Hollywood stars do when they figure in a good movie, do something about my weight. Tom Hanks dropped weight for cast away. And Renee had to gain a lot of weight for Bridget Jones. I had to do a Renee. If they saw me at my nearing anorexic weight of 98 pounds, then they would be convinced I would not last a month of ICU rotation. So I had to go up to 106 pounds for this role. That was the fun part. Believe it or not, drinking diet coke could wreck havoc on your weight. It's a sweet torture, one I embraced freely, along with outback fries and all the other stuff that makes america fat. How could they say it is zero calories when ultimately, everything enters the Kreb's Cycle and could be transformed to any carbohydrate with calories?
And I am glad to say that with interview season over, I could now go back to a 100 pounds. Ninety eight was officially unhealthy by the way.
The last hospital i interviewed with was a surprise. It was located in an area which reminded me a lot of greenhills makati. It felt like a familiar neighborhood. Surprisingly, among all the places i visited in the US, this one is right next to new york, and california as three most favorite places. Location, location, location.
They paid for the hotels, even gave us mugs, coffee, peanuts, paid for all our food. And the hospital was among the top heart hospitals in the US, and it was located downtown. I wasn't paying attention to the coat that i brought, I read somewhere that interviewees should dress in conservative colors. But hey, nobody cages me, not in fashion. And so there I was, the only interviewee wearing a pink coat, while the others donned black coats.
We met up for dinner the night before and being uber excited (it was a nice hotel) I got to the meeting place 30 minutes ahead of time and I met the driver who was to take us to the bistro. I'm a pretty friendly person and I ended up helping him carry the sign that says
"XOXO applicants for dinner transportation". He told me he was going to drive the first batch of interviewees there and if i could carry the sign at the hotel lobby for the second batch, he would be most grateful. So i was his assistant driver. It was great. The applicants thought that i was either the driver or the resident of the hospital. I joked with one of the applicants, I'm sorry but you are not invited to the dinner. I hope he had a great sense of humor.
Since I was helpful to him, the next day when we were being shuttled from one place to another, I got the passenger seat everytime. He wouldn't let anybody in the passenger seat except me. Everyone was cramped on the back but I had leg space all day.
*
I loved the hospital too. But what's new? I liked every hospital I've been to. It's a matter of finding the right fit. Would they like me in my pink coat?
It must have worked. The interview i think was a success. One of them asked me "what else could we do just to make you choose us?". I wanted to say "Shut up. You got me at hello." But i was poised. Tom Cruise wasn't there.
I asked him whether it was impossible or improbable to get into cardiology. He told me it was hard, but not impossible. I told him, that is fine with me, I love challenges, and I will work my way towards cardiology. It's hard, but it is something I expect to achieve. Oooh. Now that's one side of me that has been sleeping for a while.
The other interviewer asked me what my hobbies were. No medical questions. I ended up giving the doctor advice on how to pimp up his myspace (bling bling homies!). I told him I would check out his account and see if it needs pimping up. What a funny interview.
But i think that i am ranking them as my number one choice. It would give me an opportunity for cardiology and it was in a great location. I couldn't ask for more. Did i mention free food 24/7? And oh, for the record, i don't like pink that much.
No comments:
Post a Comment