Faculty Members' Perspective on Virtual Interviews for Medical Residency Matching during the COVID-19 Crisis: A National Survey.

Fadi Aljamaan,Badr Almosned,Mazin Barry,Fadiah Alkhattabi,Hayfa Alabdulkarim,Ayman Al-Eyadhy,Mohammed Alobaylan,Sami A Alhaider,Adi Alherbish,Jaffar A Al-Tawfiq,Mohamad-Hani Temsah,Basim Alsaywid,Nasser S Alharbi,Fahad A Bashiri,Khalid Alhasan,Ali Alhaboob,Amr Jamal

doi:10.3390/healthcare10010016

Abstract

During the COVID-19 pandemic, conducting face-to-face medical residency interviews was challenging due to infection prevention precautions, social distancing, and travel restrictions. Virtual interviews were implemented by the Saudi Commission for Health Specialties (SCFHS) as an alternative process for residency matching while striving to maintain the same quality standards. This national survey was conducted to assess the satisfaction and perceptions of faculty members’ virtual interview performance in the assessment for the medical training residency programs. Among the participating 173 faculty members, 34.1% did not have previous experience with video-conferencing. The Zoom application was the most commonly used platform (65.9%). Most (89.6%) of the faculty perceived virtual interviews as “adequate” platforms on which the candidates could express themselves, while almost half of the faculty (53.8%) agreed that virtual interviews allowed them to accurately reach an impression about the candidates. Overall, 73.4% of faculty felt comfortable ranking the virtually interviewed candidates. We conclude that the acceptance of participating faculty members in the first Saudi medical residency training matching cycle virtual interviewing event was well-perceived. This study provides evidence for future application and research of virtual interviews in residency candidates’ assessment, especially after the pandemic crisis resolves.

Highlights

The application process for medical training programs consists of a series of steps that culminate with a personal interview
Virtual interviews have been used for almost a decade in the medical residency and fellowVsihrtiuppamlmianatttcechrhivninigegwpprsorhcoaecsveses.sbM. eMaennaynuyssteusddtufieodsriehasalmvheaovsbteaebndepeecnuabdplieushbinelidsthhweedomrlweddwoircildadlewrteiodsiaedsestoenscsaystshaenesidsr pfeelrlofowrmshaipncme aantcdhifnagcupltryocaensds.aMppalnicyansttus’dsiaetsishfaacvteiobnewenithputhbelimsh;ehdowweovrledr,wthideey thoavaessneosst been introduced in the matching system in Saudi Arabia before
A recent Mayo Clinic study during the COVID19 pandemic showed high satisfaction of program directors (PD) with virtual interviews, which is similar to our result for all faculty members (4.16/5); in their study, just over half of all PD agreed or strongly agreed that year’s interviews should be virtual regardless of the COVID-19 status [24]

Summary

Introduction

The application process for medical training programs consists of a series of steps that culminate with a personal interview. This interview is usually the last step before securing the slot. Data from human resources departments show that once candidates are selected for interviews based on their curricula vitae or application forms, they are mostly competing at the same level [1,2]. Interviews yield information about applicants that is not extracted from their resumes or personal statements and are a chance for the interviewee to explore the institution. Interviews aim primarily to assess the candidates’ communication skills, in addition to exploring their aptitude, facial expressions, fluency, and certain clinical and ethical skills. Interviews allow the assessment of the candidate for any red flags that would hinder their acceptance

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