Paper 44: In-Person Versus Virtual Interviews for Orthopaedic Surgery Sports Medicine Fellowship: Applicant Perspectives

Abstract

Objectives: Virtual fellowship interviews were widely utilized during the COVID-19 pandemic. Little is published at this time about the preferences of applicants of orthopaedic surgery sports medicine fellowship positions regarding in-person versus virtual interviews. The purpose of this study is to determine the applicant cost-benefit willingness for both in-person and virtual interviews, assess the ability to learn about a program in a virtual setting, and to gauge the opinions of applicants on their preferences for in-person or virtual interviews. Methods: An online survey was distributed to all orthopaedic sports medicine applicants for the 2022-2023 match cycle through the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine (AOSSM). Statistical analysis was performed using descriptive statistics. Results: Forty-five surveys were completed. Respondents had a mean age of 31.49 years (±2.49) with 38 (84.4%) identifying as male and 7 (15.6%) as female. Most applicants applied to between 31-40 (26.7%) or 21-30 programs (22.2%), while attending between 11-15 interviews (44.4%). 51.1% of applicants stated that ~25% of their interviews were virtual format, with 15.6% of all applicants attending over 50% of interviews in the virtual format. Most applicants spent between $2,500-$5,000 (35.7%) or $5,000-$7,500 (26.7%) on interviews. Applicants stated they would feel most comfortable spending between $2,500-$5,000 (46.7%) or $5,000-$7,500 (26.7%). 36.4% of applicants stated they completed less in-person interviews due to cost, and 52.3% said they would have completed less interviews overall if there was no virtual option. 68.2% of applicants stated distance traveled was irrelevant when electing to attend an interview virtually. When comparing in-person vs virtual interviews, applicants either strongly agreed or agreed that in-person interviews allowed them to better represent themselves (95.6% vs 44.4%), assess right “fit” (95.6% vs 28.9%) and sufficiently formulate a rank list (93.2% vs 40%) compared to virtual interviews. Conclusions: Fellowship applicants had strong preferences for in-person interviews in the orthopaedic surgery sports medicine fellowship match. Cost was a limiting factor in declining in-person interviews and most applicants attended more interviews due to virtual formats. Applicants did not feel that virtual interviews were sufficient for creating accurate rank lists.