Cancelling Interviews

https://careersinmedicine.aamc.org/prepare-residency/canceling-interviews

What if I have to cancel my interview?

To cancel or reschedule in a professional manner, defer to the program’s interview policies and instructions. If a program provides no instruction, follow these general guidelines:

Amount of notice. Contact the program as soon as you know you need to change plans. Try to do this as soon as possible, but no later than two weeks in advance. Canceling with less than a week’s notice should be limited to cases of true emergency, such as a death in the family. If you have a true emergency, you must still contact the program. It is never ok to not show up for an interview.

Communication method. Regardless of how far in advance your cancellation occurs, contact the program coordinator by email or phone. If you call, you might consider sending an email to confirm the cancellation.

Explanation. If you’re canceling at least two weeks in advance, an explanation is unnecessary.

If you’re canceling because of an emergency, if possible, provide an explanation that indicates the nature of the emergency (e.g., a death in your family, you’re sick with the flu) but without too much detail (e.g., “I’m vomiting every hour”). Then accompany that explanation with supporting documentation (e.g., a doctor’s note, a death notice).

If you remain interested in the program, provide an explanation and supporting documentation if possible, affirm your continued interest, and ask if it’s possible to reschedule.

If you need further guidance, consult your advisors or Student Affairs. Under no circumstances should you be a no-show, that is, fail to attend a scheduled interview without prior notice to the program. The medical field is small, and cancelling last minute or not showing up can come back to you in the future (think fellowships, etc.).

The implications of canceling interviews:

The current residency application landscape, with its varied parties and sometimes competing interests, can make the application and interview process seem beyond your control. In fact, you may feel encouraged — even pressured — to apply to a large number of programs and amass interviews because it keeps your training and career options open.

Likewise, it may seem safer to initially accept every interview invite and to later choose which ones to attend.

However, your “yes” starts a chain of events that affects you, other applicants, programs, and your school. As such, there are implications to consider before you cancel interviews and even before you accept invites in the first place.

For you

Additional work and, possibly, expense. You’re not only juggling an interview schedule, but an academic schedule as well. Undoing the plans you made with a program and with your medical school will cost you time. If you’ve already booked travel, you’re subject to the provider’s policies and restrictions, and you may lose money.

A tarnished reputation and burnt bridges, if you cancel unprofessionally. Academic medicine is a small community. Canceling at the last minute with no explanation and no-showing can negatively affect both your reputation and future opportunities with that program or department, such as fellowship training or a job.

For other applicants to the program

Accepting an interview slot that you later cancel, especially with little or no notice, means holding or wasting a slot another candidate could have filled.

For the residency program

Even though you may only ever interact with an online scheduling tool, rest assured one or more human beings is taking action in response to your “yes.” The longer you wait before canceling, the more time and energy of the program staff you squander.

For your school

How you handle a cancellation will not only speak volumes about you, programs will also attribute your behavior — good or bad — to your medical school. What’s more, your behavior will either build or maintain the trust between the program and your medical school or it will damage that trust, affecting how programs consider applicants from your medical school in future application cycles.

It’s easy to become consumed by excitement and anxiety during the interview season and to feel as though you’re making interview decisions in a bubble. Understanding and appreciating the rippling effect of a “yes” on you and those around you may help you make better decisions and better navigate the residency interview season.