VIRTUAL INTERVIEWS FOR OBSTETRICS AND GYNECOLOGY FELLOWSHIPS: ADAPTING TO THE PANDEMIC OR THE NEW NORMAL?

Background: The 2020 OB/GYN fellowship application cycle involved only virtual interviews due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This was contrary to previous years where interviews were in-person and on-site. Prior to the pandemic, studies evaluated the potential advantage of incorporating virtual interviews as the on-site interview has been shown to be expensive, time consuming, and disruptive to a resident’s education. Objective: This study sought to evaluate the virtual interview experience from the applicant’s and interviewer’s perspective, and to characterize the advantages and disadvantages of virtual interviewing in the 2020 OB/GYN fellowship application cycle. Materials and Methods: This was a survey-based study with participants including recent OB/GYN fellowship applicants, current fellows, and current subspecialty faculty who participated in interviews. Demographics, residency training, application cycle metrics, cost of interviewing, perception of the virtual interview experience, and preference for the future were analyzed using t-test and Fisher’s exact tests. Results: There were 130 responses with 24 applicants, 59 fellows. and 47 faculty. Amongst in-person and virtual applicants, there was no significant difference in demographics. There was no significant difference in the number of programs applied to, however there were significantly more interviews granted, attended, and ranked in the virtual interview cohort. Virtual interviewees spent significantly less money ($624.2 vs $5226.2, p <0.01) and time (43.4 vs 113.1 hours, p <0.01) on interviews than their in-person counterparts and took significantly fewer days off of work (8.5 vs 14.9 days, p <0.01). There was no difference between the percentage of applicants that matched within their top three ranked programs (80% vs 65.1%, p=0.38). When asked to rate their recommendation for incorporation of virtual interviews in the future using a scale of 1-10 (with 10 indicating “strongly recommend”), applicants responded significantly more favorably (8.15 vs 5.2 (fellows), vs 5.4 (faculty), p <0.01). Faculty and fellow interviewers agreed that in-person interviews were more effective than virtual. Conclusion: This study found that virtual interviewing was associated with less time and financial burden without affecting the likelihood that the applicant matches at one of their top-ranked programs. Additionally, most applicants strongly recommend incorporating virtual interviews in the future. While there are significant advantages, fellow and faculty interviewers agree that in-person interviews are more effective. A potential solution moving forward is hybrid interviewing, where both virtual and in-person interviews are utilized. Financial Support: none References:: 1. Watson SL, Hollis RH, Oladeji L, Xu S, Porterfield JR, Ponce BA. The Burden of the Fellowship Interview Process on General Surgery Residents and Programs. J Surg Educ 2017 Jan-Feb;74(1):167-172 2. Oladeji LO, Pehler SF, Raley JA, Khoury JG, Ponce BA. Is the Orthopedic Fellowship Interview Process Broken? A Survey of Program Directors and Residents. Am J Orthop 2015 Nov;44(11):E444-E453. 3. Daram SR, Wu Ruonan, Tang S. Interview From Anywhere: Feasibility and Utility of Web-Based Videoconference Interviews in the Gastroenterology Fellowship Selection Process. Am J Gastroenterol 2014 Feb;109(2):155-159