RESUMEN
Background and Objectives: As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, interviews during the 2021 US residency match were conducted virtually, a practice again recommended and repeated by many programs in 2022. The impact of virtual interviews on recruitment and match outcomes has recently been of interest, with results showing the virtual format to be mostly well received by applicants due to cost, travel, and scheduling benefits. Few studies have looked at pre/posttransition comparisons of applicant geographic and demographic data. We compared objective match outcomes between in-person and virtual interviews across three residency programs. Methods: We conducted a retrospective cross-sectional analysis of National Residency Matching Program data between 2015-2022 across three family medicine residency programs. Primary outcomes were fill rate, average rank position, distance from program, and percentage of underrepresented in medicine demographic status for matched applicants. We compared aggregate in-person data (2015-2019) to aggregate virtual data (2020-2022) for each program using χ2, Fisher Exact test, or 2-tailed t tests to 95% confidence. Results: Saint Joseph Hospital in Reading, Pennsylvania, a 3-year community-based university affiliated program, had significantly more unfilled positions during virtual recruitment (P=.0058). Mount Nittany Medical Center in State College, Pennsylvania, a 3-year community based university-affiliated program, had a significant difference in distance of matched residents' current address (P=.048). Virtual interviews were not associated with significant differences in average position on rank list, average distance from permanent address zip code, or percentage of underrepresented in medicine (URiM) demographic status for matched applicants. Conclusions: The impact of virtual interviewing on unfilled positions and geographic data is likely site specific and generally small, as some programs had significant structural changes. Further research is needed to confirm the generalizability of these results and explore future comparisons of demographic and geographic characteristics of matched applicants pre/posttransition to the virtual format.
RESUMEN
Background: Substance use accounts for more than 400,000 deaths annually in the United States and overdose rates surged during the COVID pandemic. While the pandemic created increased pressure for better prepared providers, it simultaneously placed restrictions on medical training programs. The purpose of this educational case series is to assess the feasibility of a virtual addiction medicine training program and conduct a qualitative evaluation of medical student attitudes toward caring for people with substance use disorders, both before and after their addiction medicine training experience. Methods: We conducted a qualitative analysis related to course content focused on strengths and limitations of in-person and virtual training modalities. Individual quotes were evaluated and content themes were developed after a thorough review of all codes and detailed examination of interviewee quotes. Results: The primary themes that emerged were (1) Addiction medicine content is important to improve care of patients with substance disorders and is not fully addressed in undergraduate medical education (2) In-person and virtual training contain unique strengths and weaknesses and (3) Students perceived that both experiences provided positive and needed training in addiction medicine that shifted perspective and enhanced confidence to practice. Conclusions: Remote training via virtual lectures and patient visits may enhance training opportunities for students with limited exposure to addiction medicine patients and faculty with addiction medicine expertise. There is a need to further refine virtual care for patients with SUDs and virtual training to meet the needs of patients and learners across the country.