Perceptions of the Virtual Neurosurgery Application Cycle During the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Pandemic: A Program Director Survey.
World Neurosurg
; 154: e590-e604, 2021 10.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1440406
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE:
The novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has led to a shift to virtual residency interviews for the 2020-2021 neurosurgery match, with unknown implications for stakeholders. This study seeks to analyze the perceptions of residency program directors (PDs) and associate program directors (APDs) regarding the current virtual format used for residency selection and interviews.METHODS:
An anonymous, 30-question survey was constructed and sent to 115 neurosurgery PDs and 26 APDs to assess respondent demographics, factors used to review applicants, perceptions of applicants and applicant engagement, perceptions of standardized letters and interview questions, the effect of the virtual interview format on various stakeholders, and the future outlook for the virtual residency interview format.RESULTS:
A total of 38 PDs and APDs completed this survey, constituting a response rate of 27.0%. Survey respondents received significantly more Electronic Residency Application Service applications in the 2020-2021 cycle compared with the 2019-2020 cycle (P = 0.0029). Subinternship performance by home-rotators, (26.3%), letters of recommendation (23.7%), and Step 1 score (18.4%) were ranked as the most important factors for evaluating candidates during the current virtual application cycle.CONCLUSIONS:
Our study highlights that applicants applied to a greater number of residency programs compared with years prior, that the criteria used by PDs/APDs to evaluate applicants remained largely consistent compared to previous years, and that the virtual residency interview format may disproportionately disadvantage Doctor of Osteopathic medicine and international medical graduate applicants. Further exploring attitudes toward signaling mechanisms and standardized letters may serve to inform changes to future neurosurgery match cycles.Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
School Admission Criteria
/
Education, Distance
/
Pandemics
/
COVID-19
/
Internship and Residency
/
Neurosurgery
Type of study:
Experimental Studies
/
Observational study
/
Prognostic study
/
Randomized controlled trials
Limits:
Humans
Language:
English
Journal:
World Neurosurg
Journal subject:
Neurosurgery
Year:
2021
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
J.wneu.2021.07.078
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