Haisley Kelly R, Renshaw Savannah M, Needleman Bradley J, Narula Vimal K, Poulose Benjamin K, Perry Kyle A
Center for Minimally Invasive Surgery, Division of General and Gastrointestinal Surgery, 12306The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA.
Surg Innov. 2022 Dec;29(6):781-787. doi: 10.1177/15533506221082713. Epub 2022 Apr 11.
In-person interviews have traditionally been an integral part of the fellowship application process to allow faculty and applicants to interact and evaluate the intangible aspects of the matching process. COVID-19 has forced a transition away from in-person interviews to a virtual platform. This study sought to track faculty and applicant perspectives on this transition. Prospectively collected survey data was obtained from all participants after each of 3 consecutive virtual interview days for minimally invasive surgery fellowship at a single academic institution. : One hundred percent (27/27 applicants and 9/9 faculty) of interview participants completed the survey. Cost (100% applicants, 77.8% faculty) was perceived as the greatest barrier to in-person interviews, and "inability to get a feel for the program/applicant" was the largest concern for virtual interviews (66.7% applicants, 88.9% faculty). After interviews, most participants strongly agreed that they were able to assess education (66.7% applicants, 77.8% faculty), clinical experience (70.4% applicants, 77.8% faculty), and research potential (70.4% applicants, 88.9% faculty) through the virtual platform. Only 44.4% of each group strongly agreed that they could assess "overall fit" equally as well. Most faculty (6/9, 66.7%), but fewer applicants (10/27, 37.0%), were willing to completely eliminate in-person interviews. : Virtual interviews may be an acceptable alternative to in-person interviews in times of COVID-19 and beyond. Offering a virtual format may help to eliminate costs associated with in-person visits while adequately assessing the fit of a program for both applicants and faculty, though applicants still desire an in-person option.
传统上，面对面面试一直是奖学金申请过程中不可或缺的一部分，以便教员和申请人进行互动，并评估匹配过程中的无形因素。新冠疫情迫使面试从面对面形式转变为虚拟平台。本研究旨在追踪教员和申请人对这一转变的看法。在一所学术机构连续3天进行的微创外科奖学金虚拟面试结束后，从所有参与者那里前瞻性收集了调查数据。100%（27名申请人中的27名和9名教员中的9名）的面试参与者完成了调查。成本（100%的申请人、77.8%的教员）被认为是面对面面试的最大障碍，而“无法了解项目/申请人情况”是虚拟面试的最大担忧（66.7%的申请人、88.9%的教员）。面试后，大多数参与者强烈同意他们能够通过虚拟平台评估教育情况（66.7%的申请人、77.8%的教员）、临床经验（70.4%的申请人、77.8%的教员）和研究潜力（70.4%的申请人、88.9%的教员）。每组中只有44.4%的人强烈同意他们能够同样好地评估“整体契合度”。大多数教员（6/9，66.7%）愿意完全取消面对面面试，但愿意这样做的申请人较少（10/27，37.0%）。在新冠疫情期间及之后，虚拟面试可能是面对面面试的可接受替代方式。提供虚拟形式可能有助于消除与面对面访问相关的成本，同时充分评估项目与申请人和教员的契合度，不过申请人仍然希望有面对面的选择。
