Three years after the coronavirus pandemic made residency interviews virtual, some programs have begun to do in-person interviews again this year, to the delight of some resident candidates and faculty.
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April 2024“After going in-person this year, the overall impression was that it was an incredibly good idea for us,” said Jonathan Bock, MD, medical student clerkship director at the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee. “We have always felt that our program shows off well in person, and that was certainly confirmed again during this season’s in-person interviews.”
Even though COVID-19 is no longer the threat it once was, other programs are still conducting their resident interviews virtually and may continue to do so for the foreseeable future. There are several reasons for this, but primary among them is equity. Virtual interviews expand access to medical students who can’t afford to travel for in-person interviews. And the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) concurred, adding its recent recommendation that residency and fellowship programs continue to use a virtual interview format to reduce the cost of interviewing to widen access and improve equity (https://www.aamc.org/about-us/mission-areas/medical-education/interviews-gme-where-do-we-go-here#recommendation1). This year, the AAMC reported that in-person interviews cost medical students between $400 and $7,000 per visit (https://students-residents.aamc.org/financial-aid-resources/cost-interviewing-residency).
When you’re able to be on site, you can access a better understanding of the personality and the culture of that institution; it wouldn’t be the same through a digital screen. — Jonathan Bock, MD
Despite the costs, however, Dr. Bock said that in-person interviews offer intangible benefits that can’t be replicated by Zoom. “Applicants get a much different insight into the program’s overall experience in person,” he said. “When you’re able to be on site, you can access a better understanding of the personality and the culture of that institution; it wouldn’t be the same through a digital screen.”
Rod Diaz, MD, residency program director of otolaryngology at the University of California, Davis, agreed that virtual interviews can’t compare to in-person ones for applicants. “In an in-person setting, there’s an ability to see the kind of meaningful interactions between residents, faculty, and the staff they’re working with,” he said. “I think you get a much better picture of the true culture of an institution or a department. It’s very difficult to accurately replicate that in a virtual setting.”
Points of Contention
Like Dr. Bock, Dr. Diaz said his program’s faculty favor in-person interviews, but the University of California’s five graduate training programs have mandated that within their five health systems resident interviews are to remain virtual. “It’s a bit of a point of contention,” Dr. Diaz said.
That first year we wondered. But all of the years we’ve been doing virtual interviews, our cohort of residents have remained outstanding. — Rod Diaz, MD