Interview preparation guide
Asking about planned changes to program size: residency interview preparation guide
AAMC's program performance questions ask whether there are plans for changing the program's size or structure. A planned expansion or shrink changes call schedules, rotation capacity and how much attention each resident gets, often before it is announced widely.
How to prepare
- 1
Ask directly about size and structure plans
The AAMC list asks about plans for changing the program size or structure. Ask plainly: are there approved or proposed changes to complement, tracks or rotation structure for the next few years?
- 2
Ask what the change would mean day to day
A larger complement spreads call differently; a smaller one concentrates it. Ask how any planned change would affect call frequency, elective access and clinic templates for the classes above you and for your own.
- 3
Ask how residents learn about changes
Well-run programs involve residents before changes land. Ask how the last structural change was communicated and whether residents had input, which connects to how the program handles feedback generally.
A practical exercise
Planned size or structure changes: [..]. Effect on call and rotations: [..]. How residents are told: [..].
This is an editorial exercise to adapt to your own interview, not a script or a program requirement.
What the source guidance supports
AAMC's program performance questions ask whether there are plans for changing the program's size or structure. A planned expansion or shrink changes call schedules, rotation capacity and how much attention each resident gets, often before it is announced widely.
The exercises and checklists are editorial applications of the cited guidance, not required program procedures or predictions of interview outcomes. Costs and formats vary by program, so follow your actual invitation and school guidance.
Mistakes to avoid
- Treating an unannounced change as unlikely; complements change more often than applicants expect.
- Hearing 'no plans' without asking how the last change was handled.
- Forgetting that growth can dilute rotations and procedures, not only call.
Check your preparation
- Do I know whether size or structure changes are planned?
- Do I know how such a change would touch my schedule and training?
- Do I know how residents found out about the last change?
Questions for your practice review
- Are there plans to change the program's size or structure in the next few years?
- How would that change affect call schedules and rotation access?
- How did residents learn about the last structural change?
Common questions
Is this an official list of required questions?
No. AAMC describes its list as questions created by residents and students to help you assess fit, and says to build your own more specific questions from it.
Who should I ask?
The program director or associate program director owns this answer. Senior residents can confirm whether past changes were signalled early and how they landed in practice.
Is this current for the 2027 ERAS season?
AAMC publishes this question list as current guidance for applicants interviewing in the 2027 ERAS season. Program answers change year to year, so ask each program for its own current answer.
Related guides
Sources
This page is general editorial guidance based on the sources above. It is not a prediction of any program's questions or a statement of its current policies.