Sample Interview questions
(Collected from DPM Alum)
Social:
1. How would you make our program better?
2. Tell me about yourself.
3. Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
4. If you were put in a leadership position, how would you handle a resident who was
falling behind?
5. Tell me about your experience with (something on CV)?
6. Asked about personal statement (I talked about my daughter).
7. What will you bring to the residency?
8. Name all the residents at this program?
9. How did you get into podiatry?
10. Name your strengths and weaknesses.
11. Who would you want as a co-resident?
12. What was the best surgery you saw in your clerkships?
13. Who was your most memorable patient and why?
14. Name a time that you failed and what did you learn from it
15. What are you looking for in a residency program?
16. Why our program?
17. What do you like to do outside of podiatry?
18. Last book you read?
19. Favorite book?
20. Difference between knowledge and experience?
21. Favorite villain in a movie?
22. Type of dog that describes your personality?
23. Biggest accomplishment in podiatry?
24. What do you know about our program? (Especially programs that I did not extern, visit
or contacted at all prior to my interview).
25. If you were to travel back in time, which historical figure would you like to meet?
26. Where would you like to practice after residency?
27. What attributes do you have that will be of benefit to our program?
28. What in podiatry interests you the most?
29. If you could choose one co-resident for this program, who would it be?
Academic:
1. This person had an ankle fracture, classify it. What do you do in the ED? When would
you take them to OR? How would you fixate it? What is He feels popping a few years
later, what would be your differential? What imaging would you get? How would you
treat it?
2. Patient had ankle fracture 10 years ago, it was fixed, then had arthroscopic
microfracturing of OCD on talus 5 years ago. Here is the MRI. What do you see? How
would you treat this? At what point to you do arthroscopy vs open? How would you
treat an OCD >1cm? Always remember past surgeries and allergies. What is the
classification of OCD? What is the mechanism of this one?
3. You are called to the ED with diabetic patient with red, hot, swollen foot. What are 4
differentials? What labs would you get? What would you do in the ED then? Do you
need to admit them? How would you know to admit them? Classify the puncture
wound. What is indicated?
4. Patient comes in with bunion. Draw out an AP and Lateral xray. Show me where you
would make your cuts. Now dictate the entire surgery out loud of your Austin
bunionectomy.
5. How are ester locals broken down? (Pseudocholinesterases in plasma)
6. How is Vicryl broken down and what are its end products? (Hydrolyzed into CO2 and
water)
7. What are the 4 AO principles? (Anatomic reduction, Stable fixation, Preserves
vascularity, Early ROM)
8. What makes a precipitate? Acetate or Phosphate (Acetates)
9. What would be your order of Lisfranc screw placement? (Proximal to distal, medial to
lateral)
10. Classify this Lisfanc injury. (Just do Hardcastle)
11. What are the 3 classifications of Lisfranc injuries? (Queno & Kuss, Hardcastle,
Myerson)
12. What are the 3 classifications of 5th met base fractures? (Stewart, Torg, Chapman)
13. What are 4 things needed on an xray to be legal? (Patient name, Date, Location, Side,
also Doctor's name)
14. Why is smoking bad? Give answer. Why? Give answer. Why? Give answer. Why? Give
answer. Why? (Cigarettes make carbon monoxide which has 230 times the affinity of
oxygen to bind to hemaglobin. This competitively inhibits oxygen to bind to
hemaglobin, thus decreasing its carrying capacity to the tissue)
15. Case work ups: ankle fractures, calc fractures, open fractures, DM foot ulcer.
16. Name 3 oral and 3 IV drugs for MRSA.
17. Most common coalition in the rear foot? What views would you use to to view this
coalition?
18. Define club foot? How would I fix it?
19. Name some non-invasive vascular studies?
20. Most common bugs for cat bite? Human bite? Foot ulcer in DM? Foot wound in a nonDM?
21. Open fracture
22. Diabetic foot infection
23. Ankle fracture
24. Achilles tendon tear
25. Gas
26. Pes planus clinical signs, symptoms and treatment.
27. Talocalcaneal coalitions.
28. Antibiotics: DOC for limb threatening infections, DOC for diabetics with PNC allergy.
29. HAV: head procedures, shaft procedures, base procedures.
30. Compartment syndrome: clinical signs, symptoms and treatment.
31. Gas gangrene.
32. Osteomyelitis vs. Charcot: clinical signs, symptoms, diagnostic features for each.
33. Ankle fractures: fixation methods, classifications for ankle fractures.
34. Know all classifications: ankle fx, calcaneus fx, talar neck fx, lisfrancs, 5th met base, etc.
Questions asked at interviews:
1. I got a bunion case which was a austin in which I had to work it up from start to finish and then
talk about the procedure
2. Ankle fracture in a pediatric patient… what would be the first thing you would order to
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
differentiate between a fracture or growth plate? How to fixate it?
Name 4 pes cavus surgery
If you were doing surgery and the bone fell on the floor what would you do?
Work up of osteomyelitis
Why do we distract in closed reduction?
How to write a proper admit order
Classifications – weber, luage hansen, hawkins, hardcastle
Bone tumor – diff dx
Surgical causes of hallux varus
Agents used for nail procedure
Pes planus work up
Questions asked about clerkships:
1. In calcaneal fracture what are three things you need to make sure you restore?
2. 2. If you remove the fibula sesamoid? Hallux varus.. Remove the tibal sesamoid? Hallux
valgus and if you remove both you get hallux malleus
3. What is the organism causing osteomyeltiis in a sickle cell patient? Salmonella
4. What should you obtain in a patient with rheumatoid? C spine X-ray
5. Know your angles for a bunion X-ray
6. Pilon fractures : patient comes to the ED what is the first thing you want to check?
Neuromuscular status. Would you perform surgery on someone with edema and
fracture blister? No wait till the soft tissue envelope is normal and then proceed with
surgery.
7. Tear in the perineal tendons what surgery would you perform? < 50% debridement of
the tendon, 50% tuberlization
8. OCD lesion know the two major locations ( DIAL A PIMP pneumonic) know procedures
that can be performed : OATs , de NOVO, arthroscopy, micro fracturing ( to name
some)
9. what labs would you order for osteomyleitis?
10. Dictate an op report for a hammertoe procedure.
11. Name three FDA approved drugs for diabetic foot infections.
12. What are the triad of symptoms following clostridium tetani infection?
13. Describe the osteotomies needed to correct an equinovarus deformity.
14. Look at these lab values (Chem-7, CBC with diff, ESR, CRP). Which values are
abnormal?
15. What is a common etiology for spastic peroneal flatfoot?
16. What opioid is used when patient is in renal failure?
17. List 3 po drugs for DVT prophlyaxis.
18. Pretend you are seeing this patient in the ER and you need to describe the
wound/fracture to the attending on the phone.
19. What is the classification for peroneal subluxation? What is it? Who added the 4th
stage?
20. Go through an H&P with a mock patient.
21. How do you diagnose acute compartment syndrome clinically?
22. What opioid is contraindicated in a patient in renal failure?
23. Why didn't you visit/extern here?
24. Where is our program ranked?
25. What is the last journal article you read? Who was the author and what was the
publication?
26. What are the radiographic signs of a tarsal coalition?
27. Draw a diagram of a local flap. Describe your drawing.
28. Mark your incision for a distal metatarsal osteotomy. What are your anatomic
landmarks?
29. How do you work up a patient for a DVT? What if your ultrasound comes back
inconclusive? What lab test can you order to rule out DVT/PE?
30. What are your treatment options for Charcot reconstruction? What would you do,
ORIF or ex fix? Why?
31. What do you do if a patient is hypertensive after surgery?
32. What are you looking for in a residency program?
33. Tell me about yourself.
34. Why did you go into podiatry?
35. What would you do if patient had a severe diabetic foot infection?
36. Which resident in our program would you model yourself after? Why?
37. Why did you get a low grade in this class?
38. Do you have any questions for us?
39. What are some of the rumors that you have heard about our program?