No Substitute for a Handshake, or Is There?

Abstract

As the world has changed dramatically in the wake of the pandemic, we have all come to rely heavily on virtual meeting platforms as substitutes for in-person experiences. Last year’s round of thoracic surgery fellowship interviews was one of the early victims of the acute changes last spring. Given the new normal, it is important to consider whether our traditional approach to the interview process is still the best method. Many of us likely perceive an in-person interaction to be better than a virtual meeting, because we feel the face to face interaction affords a more thorough and honest evaluation of the opposite party, we appreciate the opportunity to look the other party in the eye and shake their hand. But, is this perception accurate, especially for the new generation who communicate through technology more often, efficiently and sagaciously? Can high-quality and more efficient interviews be processed with a primarily virtual model resulting in increased satisfaction from both fellows and programs? Unfortunately, we cannot answer this question yet based solely on the data provided by Taylor and colleagues 1 Taylor M. Wallen T. Mehaffey J.H. et al. Interviews during the pandemic: a thoracic education cooperative group and surgery residents project. Ann Thorac Surg. 2022; 113: 663-668 Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (7) Google Scholar in this issue of The Annals of Thoracic Surgery, and further study is warranted. Follow-up studies evaluating the fellows’ as well as the programs’ satisfaction with the results of the match after at least 1 year at the program would provide valuable additional detail. A similar analysis on this next applicant group once programs had more time and experience to improve the virtual interview experience would also be helpful, given that the interviews last year were in the wake of a national crisis. Interviews During the Pandemic: A Thoracic Education Cooperative Group and Surgery Residents ProjectThe Annals of Thoracic SurgeryVol. 113Issue 2PreviewThe 2020 interview cycle for cardiothoracic fellowships was affected by the coronavirus-19 pandemic. Many programs shifted from in-person to virtual interviews. We evaluated applicant perceptions of the various formats. Full-Text PDF