Faculty and applicant perceptions of virtual interviews on subspecialty fellowship match in obstetrics and gynecology.
Med Educ Online
; 27(1): 2068993, 2022 Dec.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1815826
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
In response to COVID-19, the AAMC recommended that hospitals conduct interviews in a virtual setting.OBJECTIVE:
To evaluate whether fellowship video conference interviews (VCIs) are an acceptable alternative to in-person interviews from both the applicant and program perspectives.METHODS:
Applicants and faculty from a single academic institution with five OBGYN subspecialty fellowship programs were invited to complete surveys regarding their experience using VCIs during the 2020 interview season. Survey responses used a 5-point Likert scale (strongly disagree to strongly agree). Comparative analyses between faculty and applicants responses to survey questions were performed with two-tailed Student's t-tests.RESULTS:
45 faculty members and 131 applicants received the survey. Response rate for faculty members and applicants was 95.6% (n = 43) and 46.6% (n = 61), respectively. Faculty and applicants agreed that the VCIs allowed them to accurately represent themselves (83.7% vs. 88.6%, p = 0.48). Most applicants (62.3%, n = 38) reported a fundamental understanding of the fellowship's culture. The majority of applicants (77.1%, n = 47) and faculty (72.1%, n = 31) agreed that they were able to develop connections during the virtual interview (p = 0.77). Faculty and applicants stated that VCIs assisted them in determining whether the candidate or program, respectively, was a good fit (83.7% vs. 67.2%, p = 0.98).CONCLUSIONS:
The VCI fellowship recruitment process allowed OBGYN fellowship applicants and programs to accurately represent themselves compared to in-person interviews. Most applicants and faculty were able to develop relationships over the virtual platform. Although not explicitly assessed, it is possible that the virtual interviews can achieve a suitable match between applicant and program across all OBGYN subspecialty fellowships. The VCI process may be a long-term resolution to minimize both the financial burden and time commitment presented by traditional in-person interviews. Follow-up studies should assess the performance of the virtually selected fellows compared to those selected in previous years using traditional in-person interviews.Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
COVID-19
/
Gynecology
/
Obstetrics
Type of study:
Cohort study
/
Experimental Studies
/
Observational study
/
Prognostic study
Limits:
Humans
Language:
English
Journal:
Med Educ Online
Journal subject:
Education
Year:
2022
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
10872981.2022.2068993
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