Introduction
Interviewing for medical residency encompasses significant economic burden to both applicants and residency institutions. While the current system of in-person interviews is well-validated, technological advances allow for web-based video conference (WBVC) interviews and virtual tours as an alternative at reduced cost to applicants and programs. The Harbor-UCLA Department of Anesthesiology utilized WBVC interviews and a virtual program director’s welcome and a virtual hospital tour this year for a portion of the applicants. It was found there is similar satisfaction between applicants who chose a web based interview and the applicant group who preferred a traditional interview.
Methods
At Harbor-UCLA, WBVC interviews via Skype and FaceTime were conducted for a subset of applicants. Applicants were divided into two groups—traditional face-to-face group and those who were offered a WBVC interview. To keep the experience standardized to a certain extent, a virtual program director’s welcome (https://spark.adobe.com/video/PZKrgY1t9ui9T) and virtual hospital tour (https://spark.adobe.com/video/FrpBebUs2JCQf) was emailed to both the WBVC group and the face-to-face group. Both the virtual information and virtual tour was created utilizing a free web-based application called Adobe Spark Video.
Results
The results demonstrated equal satisfaction with the interview experience between the two groups, and the web based applicants and face-to-face applicants were equally likely to be ranked in the upper or lower half of the program’s rank order list. The WBVC had zero cancellation rate, whereas the face-to-face group a 10% cancellation rate. Two out of the ten ultimately matched as a result of WBVC interviews. All residency spots were filled.
Discussion
Medical students apply to an average of 36 programs, producing an ERAS application cost of $695 per applicant. Based on a survey of medical students, cost of interviewing/travel is averaged at $3,422 per student. With over 35,000 applicants interviewing, the total student financial burden is approximately $125 million. Furthermore, the residency program’s cost is significant. Estimated recruitment cost per resident is $14,000. This total program cost is comprised of opportunity cost, administrative cost, entertainment cost, etc. The total recruitment cost of all programs nationally amounts to $430 million. Based on existing models, this approach has potential to save the department up to $90,000 while collectively saving applicants between $17,000 to $39,000. This model can also be applied to fellowship interviews so residents do not have to sacrifice training time for interview travel.
References
1. Freid, Jessica (immediate-past chair Organization of student Representatives). Cost of Applying to Residency Questionnaire Report – AAMC, May 2015
2. Brummond, A, et al. Resident Recruitment Costs: A National Survey of Internal Medicine Program Directors, The American Journal of Medicine, Vol 126, No 7, July 2013
3. Vadi M, Malkin M, Lenart J, Stier GR, Gatling JW, Applegate II R, Comparison of web-based and face-to- face interviews for application to an anesthesiology training program: a pilot study International Journal of Medical Education. 2016;7:102-108
