Evaluating Changes in Family Medicine Applicant Characteristics Following the Onset of Virtual Interviewing.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The COVID-19 pandemic obliged the field of graduate medical education to pivot from in-person to virtual residency interviews in 2020. The decreased travel and financial barriers of this format could potentially lead to greater diversity and equity in the primary care workforce. We aimed to evaluate changes in applicant pools from in-person to virtual interviewing cycles. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective review of Electronic Residency Application Services (ERAS) from five US family medicine residencies across five interview cycles (three in-person and two virtual; 2017/2018 through 2021/2022). We compared geographic and demographic data about applicants as well as administrative program data. RESULTS: The study included 25,271 applicants. The average distance between applicants and programs was 768 miles during in-person interview years and 772 miles during virtual interview years (P=.27). Applicants who interviewed with programs were 446 and 459 miles away, respectively (P=.06). During in-person application years, applicants with backgrounds historically underrepresented in medicine (URM) submitted an average of 21% of applications; this increased approximately 1% during virtual interviewing years (OR, 1.08; P=.03). There were no other differences between in-person and virtual application years in rates of URM applicants. Residency programs received more applications from US medical schools (OR, 1.46; P<.0001) and were more likely to interview a US medical school applicant (OR, 2.26; P<.0001) in virtual years. Program fill rates appeared to be lower during virtual years. CONCLUSIONS: The virtual interviewing format did not appear to substantially increase the geographic, racial, or ethnic diversity of applicants, and was associated with increased applications from US medical schools.

Outpatient Teaching and Feedback Skills Workshop for Resident Physicians.

Introduction: There is a need for innovative workshops designed to teach students and residents the basics of clinical medical education. Resident physicians often spend a significant portion of their training teaching others and frequently have very little formal instruction on teaching techniques. Other teaching tools exist but are often either entirely lecture based or too extensive to easily incorporate into a residency teaching session. There is a need for the facilitated practice of teaching methods to improve the resident educational experience. Methods: This 80-minute workshop blends interactive role-play case studies with quick lectures on the ARCH feedback model, the RIME model of medical information mastery, and the One-Minute Preceptor. This workshop includes three short PowerPoint lectures, four case studies, a handout, a pre-/posttest, and a session evaluation form. Results: Resident and student learners were engaged for the entirety of this session. Pre-/posttest results showed an improvement in understanding of basic teaching and feedback techniques, and survey results showed a higher likelihood of the learners wanting to incorporate teaching into their future practice. Discussion: This workshop is quick and overall quite effective in teaching basic feedback and teaching techniques. It provides a much-needed opportunity for residents to practice teaching techniques immediately after they have learned the concepts. This training is ideal for a residency program looking to provide new senior residents with the teaching tools they need for success.