Pediatric Department, College of Medicine, King Saud University, PO BOX 2925, Riyadh, 11461, Saudi Arabia.
Pediatric Department, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
BMC Med Educ. 2021 Aug 31;21(1):462. doi: 10.1186/s12909-021-02890-7.
Medical training programs candidate's interview is an integral part of the residency matching process. During the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, conducting these interviews was challenging due to infection prevention restrains (social distancing, namely) and travel restrictions. E-interviews were implemented by the Saudi Commission for Healthcare Specialties (SCFHS) since the matching cycle of March 2020 to hold the interviews in a safer virtual environment while maintaining the same matching quality and standards.
This study was conducted to assess the medical training residency program applicants' satisfaction, stress, and other perspectives for the (SCFHS) March 2020 Matching-cycle conducted through an urgently implemented E-interviews process.
A cross-sectional, nationwide survey (Additional file 1) was sent to 4153 residency-nominated applicants to the (SCFHS) March 2020 cycle.
Among the 510 candidates who responded, 62.2% applied for medical specialties, 20.2% applied for surgical specialties, and 17.6% applied for critical care and emergency specialties. Most respondents (61.2%) never had previous experience with web-based video conferences. Most respondents (80.2%) used the Zoom application to conduct the current E-interviews, whereas only 15.9% used the FaceTime application. 63.3% of the respondents preferred E-interviews over in-person interviews, and 60.6% rated their experience as very good or excellent. 75.7% of the respondents agreed that all their residency program queries were adequately addressed during the E-interviews. At the same time, 52.2% of them agreed that E-interviews allowed them to represent themselves accurately. 28.2% felt no stress at all with their E-interviews experience, while 41.2% felt little stressed and only 8.2% felt highly stressed. The factors that were independently and inversely associated with applicants' level of stress with E-interviews experience were their ability to represent themselves during the interviews (p = 0.001), cost-savings (p < 0.001), their overall rating of the E-interviews quality (p = 0.007) and the speed of the internet connection (p < 0.006).
Videoconferencing was implemented on an urgent basis during the COVID-19 pandemic in the medical residency application process in Saudi Arabia. It was perceived as an adequate and promising tool to replace in-person interviews in the future. Applicants' satisfaction was mainly driven by good organization, cost-saving, and their ability to present themselves. Future studies to enhance this experience are warranted.
医学培训项目候选人的面试是住院医师匹配过程的一个组成部分。在 2019 年冠状病毒病（COVID-19）大流行期间，由于感染预防限制（例如社交距离）和旅行限制，进行这些面试具有挑战性。沙特医疗专业委员会（SCFHS）自 2020 年 3 月的匹配周期开始实施电子面试，以便在保持相同匹配质量和标准的情况下，在更安全的虚拟环境中进行面试。
本研究旨在评估沙特 2020 年 3 月通过紧急实施电子面试流程进行的医疗培训住院医师计划申请人的满意度、压力和其他方面。
对 4153 名参加沙特 2020 年 3 月 SCFHS 匹配周期的住院医师提名申请人进行了一项横断面全国性调查（附加文件 1）。
在 510 名回应的候选人中，62.2%申请医学专业，20.2%申请外科专业，17.6%申请重症监护和急诊专业。大多数受访者（61.2%）以前从未有过基于网络的视频会议经验。大多数受访者（80.2%）使用 Zoom 应用程序进行当前的电子面试，而只有 15.9%使用 FaceTime 应用程序。63.3%的受访者更喜欢电子面试而不是面对面面试，60.6%的受访者对他们的体验评价非常好或优秀。75.7%的受访者同意所有的住院医师计划查询在电子面试中都得到了充分解决。同时，52.2%的人认为电子面试使他们能够准确地代表自己。28.2%的人在电子面试体验中没有感到任何压力，而 41.2%的人感到压力很小，只有 8.2%的人感到压力很大。与电子面试体验申请人压力水平呈独立负相关的因素是他们在面试中代表自己的能力（p=0.001）、节省成本（p<0.001）、他们对电子面试质量的总体评价（p=0.007）和互联网连接速度（p<0.006）。
在沙特阿拉伯的医疗住院医师申请过程中，在 COVID-19 大流行期间紧急实施了视频会议。它被认为是一种充分且有前途的工具，可以替代未来的面对面面试。申请人的满意度主要取决于良好的组织、节省成本和他们展示自己的能力。需要进一步研究以提高这种体验。
