Garden Evan, Loebel Emma, Sanky Charles, Chudow Jacquelyn, Fallar Robert, Parkas Valerie
E. Garden is a fourth-year medical student and member, Admissions Committee, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York; ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7138-5951 .
E. Loebel is a fourth-year medical student and member, Admissions Committee, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York; ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9459-3182 .
Acad Med. 2021 Aug 1;96(8):1156-1159. doi: 10.1097/ACM.0000000000004149. Epub 2021 May 4.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, medical schools have offered a virtual application process. Minimal literature is available to guide best practices.
The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (ISMMS) implemented a completely virtual interview (VI) process in April/May 2020. Large-group sessions for applicants, interviews with applicants, and ISMMS Admissions Committee meetings occurred via Zoom (Zoom Video Communications, Inc., San Jose, California). Large-group sessions and committee meetings occurred via communal conference calls, while one-on-one, semistructured interviews occurred in individual breakout rooms. ISMMS offered live, virtual question-and-answer sessions with students and faculty, plus digital resources describing program features. After the interview day, applicants and interviewers were invited to complete anonymous surveys regarding their experiences with and perspectives of VI.
Of 125 applicants and 20 interviewers, 99 (79%) and 18 (90%), respectively, completed at least part of the survey. Of the applicants, 85/95 (89%) agreed VI met or exceeded expectations, with many praising the day's organization and convenience, and 71/95 (75%) agreed they received a sufficient sense of the student body. A minority (n = 39/95 [41%]) felt limited in their ability to learn about the institution (commonly related to their inability to tour campus), and a majority (n =74/91 [81%]) would have preferred an in-person interview. Most interviewers felt comfortable assessing applicants' verbal communication skills (n = 13/16 [81%]), and most (n = 12/17 [71%]) felt VI should be an option for future applicants.
VI, likely to be a temporary-but-universal fixture of upcoming application cycles, may benefit applicants and interviewers alike by saving resources and diversifying those involved. Next steps are developing programming that will permit applicants to virtually explore the institution and connect more with current students. Future research should evaluate potential bias in VI to ensure an equitable application process for all.
在新冠疫情期间，医学院校采用了虚拟申请流程。但可供指导最佳实践的文献极少。
西奈山伊坎医学院（ISMMS）于2020年4月/5月实施了完全虚拟的面试（VI）流程。面向申请人的大型小组会议、与申请人的面试以及ISMMS招生委员会会议均通过Zoom（Zoom视频通讯公司，加利福尼亚州圣何塞）进行。大型小组会议和委员会会议通过公用电话会议进行，而一对一的半结构化面试则在单独的分组讨论室进行。ISMMS提供了与学生和教师的实时虚拟问答环节，以及描述项目特点的数字资源。面试日过后，邀请申请人和面试官就他们对虚拟面试的体验和看法完成匿名调查。
在125名申请人和20名面试官中，分别有99名（79%）和18名（90%）至少完成了部分调查。在申请人中，85/95（89%）的人认为虚拟面试达到或超出了预期，许多人称赞当天的组织和便利性，71/95（75%）的人认为他们对学生群体有了足够的了解。少数人（n = 39/95 [41%]）觉得他们了解该机构的能力有限（通常与无法参观校园有关），而大多数人（n =74/91 [81%]）更喜欢面对面面试。大多数面试官对评估申请人的口头沟通能力感到得心应手（n = 13/16 [81%]），并且大多数人（n = 12/17 [71%]）认为虚拟面试应该作为未来申请人的一个选项。
虚拟面试可能会成为即将到来的申请周期中的一个临时但普遍的固定环节，通过节省资源和使参与人员多样化，可能会使申请人和面试官都受益。下一步是开发相关程序，让申请人能够虚拟探索该机构并与在校学生有更多互动。未来的研究应该评估虚拟面试中可能存在的偏见，以确保所有申请人都能有一个公平的申请过程。
