At this point it seems like the 2023-2024 cycle will most likely be virtual given how bad the winter spike in COVID cases was earlier this year and it may be that way again for the upcoming winter. For the long term however, are programs in favor of virtual interviews?
Based on what I've heard, we should expect virtual interviews for the foreseeable future, even if COVID cases drop back down. It's just too convenient, and much cheaper, for everyone involved.
I believe It will disproportionately affect your lower tiered candidates. Sure, you will save money and the AMA is in favor of doing so in the interest of equity, because, as they note, it will eliminate a "substantial portion of the cost of application" and while that is true, it will be a disadvantage to certain people who would have otherwise shined and connected during the
in-person interview than they would virtually. An in-person interview has so many advantages, again, IMHO. Also, in your specialities, people will hold onto way more interviews then they would have if they were traveling, so less will be offered in round 2.
- #4
I believe It will disproportionately affect your lower tiered candidates. Sure, you will save money and the AMA is in favor of doing so in the interest of equity, because, as they note, it will eliminate a "substantial portion of the cost of application" and while that is true, it
will be a disadvantage to certain people who would have otherwise shined and connected during the in-person interview than they would virtually. An in-person interview has so many advantages, again, IMHO. Also, in your specialities, people will hold onto way more interviews then they would have if they were traveling, so less will be offered in round 2.
Yeah I remember a letter from AAMC stating that that top applicants were disproportionately holding onto more interviews but it would risk programs going unmatched. But now we’ve had 2 full cycles with virtual interviews only and I can only hope that programs have adapted and are adjusting their interviewing process accordingly.
Regarding your first point about how some applicants “shine during in-person interviews”, I’m not sure how to feel about that. Residency selection is dependent on 4 years of hard work, clerkship evaluations, research, board scores, etc. Anyone can fake a good personality for a 20 minute interview. And there are plenty of other opportunities [LORs, auditions, clerkship evals, personal statement, etc] for applicants to prove that they have strong communication skills and ability to work on a team. If someone’s residency chances are dependent on interviews being in person as opposed to virtual, then I would argue that there is a problem.
- #5
In person != virtual. I have met numerous people who are very charismatic in real life but not over zoom. These tend to be tall and or big framed people. They will be hurt the most for sure, by losing an additional way to stand out
- #6
I would imagine that depending on how long/how much they give you access to in the interview it will hurt applicants as well. If I’m going to spend the next 4 years somewhere, I want to see the culture, what the residents say about the place, how the staff interact with each other, etc. To me being at a place where the doctors and hospital take care of their residents matters
more than the prestige of the place, and that’ll be extremely hard to gauge without the in person element I imagine.
- #7
I would imagine that depending on how long/how much they give you access to in the interview it will hurt applicants as well. If I’m going to spend the next 4 years somewhere, I want to see the culture, what the residents say about the place, how the staff interact with each other,
etc. To me being at a place where the doctors and hospital take care of their residents matters more than the prestige of the place, and that’ll be extremely hard to gauge without the in person element I imagine. I mean…. some of the residents on doximity are brutally honest on there lol
- #8
I see pros and cons on both sides. I think letting individual programs decide makes a lot more sense overall. I think there’s a big difference between a big IM program interviewing 200 people for a bunch of slots, compared to a small ENT program interviewing 30-40 people for