Interview preparation guide
Asking about protected teaching time: residency interview preparation guide
AAMC's education questions ask how much time per week residents spend teaching students and whether that time is protected. Teaching load shapes your week, and protected status tells you whether teaching is a planned part of the schedule or an extra duty squeezed around it.
How to prepare
- 1
Ask for the weekly teaching load in hours
The AAMC list asks how much time per week residents spend with students. Ask for a typical number, and ask whether it changes on busy rotations, since an average can hide heavy months.
- 2
Ask whether teaching time is protected
Protected means the schedule holds the slot even when the service is busy. Ask what happens to teaching sessions when the census spikes or a co-resident is away, because that is when unprotected time disappears first.
- 3
Ask what support surrounds the teaching
A formal expectation usually comes with structure: teaching scripts, observation, feedback training. Ask how teaching duties connect with any formal training in teaching skills the program offers.
A practical exercise
Weekly hours with students: [number]. Protected or flexible: [..]. What happens on busy weeks: [..]. Support and training: [..].
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 education questions ask how much time per week residents spend teaching students and whether that time is protected. Teaching load shapes your week, and protected status tells you whether teaching is a planned part of the schedule or an extra duty squeezed around it.
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
- Accepting 'residents teach a lot' without a weekly number.
- Assuming a scheduled session is protected without asking what happens when the service is busy.
- Forgetting that heavy teaching can be a positive if it is structured and supported.
Check your preparation
- Do I know the weekly teaching load in hours?
- Do I know whether teaching time survives busy weeks?
- Do I know what training and support sits behind the teaching expectation?
Questions for your practice review
- How many hours per week do residents typically spend teaching students?
- Is that teaching time protected when the service is busy?
- What training do residents get for teaching and giving feedback?
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?
Program leaders can state the expected hours and the protection policy. Current residents, especially those on ward months with students, can say what actually happens on busy weeks.
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.