Emergency medicine residency applicant views on the interview day process.

OBJECTIVES

Emergency medicine (EM) residency programs spend significant time and money offering an interview day experience for their applicants. The day may include a range of activities, although which are most important from the applicants' point of view are not known.

METHODS

An anonymous web-based survey was sent to all applicants to an EM residency program from the 2006/07 cycle. The study assessed factors about the interview day that were most helpful to applicants in assessing goodness of fit and preparing their rank list of programs.

RESULTS

When considering whether a program was a good fit for them, the respondents chose (from most to least important) how happy the residents seem, faculty-resident relationships, how well the residents work together, resident and faculty values match my own, the residents spend time together outside of the residency, and the residents share my outside interests. Applicants most value assessing program "personality," informal off-campus gatherings with residents, and interviewing with the program director as ways to decide where a program will reside on their rank list. Touring off-campus emergency departments and off-service facilities received the lowest rating averages.

CONCLUSIONS

Residency programs have the opportunity to control two of the three most important ways in which applicants use the interview day to assess programs by offering off-campus gatherings with residents and ensuring that every candidate interviews with the program director. Residency programs may use this knowledge to optimize interview day resources.