Distributions of Residency Interviews With the Implementation of Virtual Interviews and Standardization of Interview Offer Dates

Obstetrics and gynecology clerkship directors' experiences advising residency applicants

BACKGROUND

The evolving landscape of application processes for obstetrics and gynecology residency applicants poses many challenges for applicants and advisors. The lack of data coordination among national groups creates crucial gaps in information for stakeholder groups.

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to identify the current state of the advising milieu for obstetrics and gynecology residency applicants and their career advisors, the annual Association of Professors of Gynecology and Obstetrics survey focused on US clerkship directors' experiences advising students through these processes.

STUDY DESIGN

A 23-item anonymous survey was developed that asked respondents about demographics and outcomes for the students that they advised through the 2021 application process and their experiences with dual applicants and students not matching. The survey was sent electronically to all obstetrics and gynecology clerkship directors with active Association of Professors of Gynecology and Obstetrics memberships in April 2021.

RESULTS

Of 224 total clerkship directors, 143 (63.8%) responded to the survey, Of the 143 respondents, almost all (136 [95.1%]) served as career advisors, and 50 (35.0%) were aware of students dual applying. Furthermore, obstetrics and gynecology was rarely the backup to a more competitive specialty. For the 2021 application cycle, 79 of 143 respondents (55.2%) reported having students not successfully match into obstetrics and gynecology, with "academic concerns" followed by "poor communication skills" as the primary reasons cited for students not matching.

CONCLUSION

This snapshot of clerkship directors' experiences advising students in the residency application process reveals notably high rates of dual applicants and students not matching into obstetrics and gynecology. This work fills key gaps in our knowledge of current processes and highlights the importance of career advising at multiple points during the application process.

Interview Without Harm: Reimagining Medical Training's Financially and Environmentally Costly Interview Practices

The looming threat of climate change urgently calls for reimagining unsustainable systems and practices, including academia's culture of emissions-intensive travel. Given that medical educators are uniquely invested in the future of the trainees they represent, this reimagination can and should begin with medical education. Making significant reforms to the application process has historically been challenging, but the COVID-19 pandemic catalyzed an abrupt shift from in-person to virtual interviews for medical school, residency, and fellowship. Programs and applicants alike demonstrated resilience, innovation, and satisfaction in adapting to virtual interviews during 2 full application cycles. This restructuring has prompted consideration of the necessity of environmentally costly, expensive, and time-consuming cross-country travel for single-day interviews. However, evolving conversations about the future of medical training interviews have not prioritized environmental impact, despite the sizeable historical emissions generated by interview-related travel and the incompatibility between ecological damage and population health. Beyond environmental impact, virtual interviews are more equitable, with significantly fewer financial costs, and they are more efficient, requiring less time off from school or work. Many concerns associated with virtual interviews, including interview inflation and limited applicant exposure to programs and their surrounding areas, can be addressed via creative and structural solutions, such as interview caps and in-person second-look programs. The medical training interview process underwent a forced restructuring due to the unprecedented disruption caused by COVID-19. This moment presents a strategic inflection point for medical education leadership to build on the momentum and permanently transform the process by focusing on sustainability and equity.

Initiation of the Virtual Interview: A 5-Y Evaluation of General Surgery Residency Match Results

INTRODUCTION

The virtual residency application season posed numerous challenges for the 2021 residency match process. Many residency programs are exploring relationships between this novel format and the match process. The purpose of this study was to compare one of the largest general surgery residency program's applications and match data from preCOVID years to the 2021 virtual cycle.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A retrospective review was performed of applicants to a single general surgery residency program from 2017 to 2021. The primary outcome was the number of locally matched applicants. The secondary outcomes were the total number of applications, change in applicant demographics, and variability of the geographic spread during this study period. Chi-square tests of independence, Fisher's exact tests, and negative binomial regression were performed.

RESULTS

6819 applicants were included in the study. In 2021, an increase in applications was observed. The distribution of 2021 applications was statistically different from previous years regarding gender and race (P < 0.0001). The 2021 application cycle had a greater proportion of applicants from the United States (P < 0.0001) and southern US medical schools (P = 0.008). While the 2021 cycle had significantly more interviews (P = 0.013), there were no significant differences in the demographic composition of interviewees. During the 2021 application year, all 11 matches were from southern medical schools and there was a trend to more matched female applicants compared to previous years.

CONCLUSIONS

During the 2021 COVID-19 virtual match cycle, an increase in both the number of applications and number of interviews for general surgery residency was identified. The characteristics of applicants who interviewed and matched were not different when compared to previous years. As virtual interviews may become more commonplace, it is important to assess all factors that may be involved in the dynamic residency application process.

Virtual Interviewing for Radiology Residency: Pluses, Minuses, and A Review of the Literature

This article reviews current medical literature to assess the benefits and drawbacks of virtual interviews for radiology residencies as well as the downstream effects of these changes, best practices, and potential future recruitment methods. Topics covered include the effects of remote recruitment in promoting accessibility and applicant diversity and equality as well as fiscal, environmental, and time savings in combination with technical challenges, the complications of over application, challenges in assessment of program culture and location, impact on morale, and hidden financial and emotional costs. Learnings from other medical specialties are highlighted in addition to the process of signaling, guidelines for conducting and participating in virtual interviews, and matters for future consideration.