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THE INTERVIEW PROCESS
CASPR: IT WAS NOT ALWAYS THIS
SIMPLE
By
Jay
Lieberman, DPM
Today, I
would like to discuss CASPR and the Residency selection
process. Since I graduated in 1981, there have been tremendous
improvements in the process. CASPR is the Centralized
Application Service for Podiatric Residencies. You can get a
detailed explanation at
www.aacpm.org/residencies/casprcripwel.asp
Each year I
receive 80-100 applications for our residency program. CASPR
provides us a packet on each applicant which includes
references, cumulative grade point averages, extra curricular
activities, all research and publications and a small essay on
the applicant’s life and interest in podiatry.
The CRIP
(Centralized Regional Interview Program) arranges the interviews
to be held at three centralized locations. CRIP™ is a separate
service of AACPM. The Centralized Application Service for
Podiatric Residencies (CASPR™) is administered by the Council of
Teaching Hospitals (COTH), part of the American Association of
Colleges of Podiatric Medicine (AACPM). These two programs in
combination greatly simplify the process and help to reduce the
expenses to the students
When I
graduated in 1981, I was granted interviews in Miami, New York,
Philadelphia, Pittsburg and Chicago. Because the cost of
traveling to all these locations was so excessive, my classmates
and I would often share rides and hotel rooms to decrease our
expenses.
I recall
five of us on route to Philly to interview at what we thought
was our “safe program”. We left New York the night before and
all cramped into a small VW Beetle. The trunk space was
limited, so we rode with our suit hanger and small toiletry bags
in our laps. My good fortune landed me in the middle rear seat
next to two plump fellows. It was cold and the only heat was
provided by the outside air passing over the small VW engine.
We arrived at the Motel 6 at around 9:00pm that evening. It
took a while to pry myself out of the car. I was looking
forward to a warm bed and a hot meal. Our room was supplied
with two double beds which meant someone had to make due with
the floor (that being me). My classmates did not want to devote
a lot to time to dining, preferring instead, to do some last
minute cramming. The local Waffle House was the best we could
do.
Strangely,
we were all given 8:00am interview times. Well appointed in our
three piece business suits, we headed off to a small office in
the outskirts of Philly. Sixty or so prospective residents
crammed into a small waiting room. There, we were separated
into four groups. Each group was then assigned a different
interview time. My group was asked to return at 2:00pm for a
short quiz. We were told that we would be taken in alphabetical
order. Without the benefit of my own transportation, I spent
the better part of that day walking between the office and a
nearby Circle K. It was cold, drizzling and generally nasty.
Most of my funds had gone into purchasing my “interview suit”; a
warm trench coat would have been nice, but financially out of
the question.
I took my
exam at 2:00PM and waited another two hours for my interview. I
made the dreadful mistake of asking to borrow a pen to take the
exam. I learned during my short interview, that proper pen
preparation was one of the qualifications that this program held
in high regard. Needless to say, I didn’t make their short
list. Fortunately, my Florida interviews went a little better.
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