Vankina Srilakshmi P, Laddha Radhika, Huffstetler Alison N
University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis, MN.
Robert Graham Center for Policy Studies in Family Medicine and Primary Care, Washington, DC.
PRiMER. 2025 Apr 18;9:15. doi: 10.22454/PRiMER.2025.898068. eCollection 2025.
Since the shift to virtual residency interviews following the COVID-19 pandemic and the initial 2021 and 2022 endorsement from the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education, applicants and programs have been weighing the benefits and disadvantages of this transition. This study examines the impact of debt concern among family medicine residency applicants and their likelihood of (1) accepting virtual interview offers and (2) recommending the digital format for future application cycles.
Using responses from the American Academy of Family Physicians 2023 Medical Student Education Survey, we applied descriptive bivariate analysis and rapid cycle thematic evaluation to explore associations between 2023 family medicine residency applicants' debt concern and their perception of digital residency interviews.
A majority of our study sample (86%) had some level of debt concern. A majority (88.8%) also noted that most of their interviews were virtual. Regardless of debt concern, most students (87.4%) indicated that they accepted offers for virtual interviews that they otherwise may not have accepted if travel time and expenses were involved. Furthermore, most students (87.1%) recommended a virtual component to future residency interviews.
Contrary to our expectations, there was no association between concern for debt and preference for virtual interviews. Most candidates preferred the virtual setting, stating that they were more likely to accept virtual interview offers, and recommended this format for future cycles.
自新冠疫情后转向虚拟住院医师面试，以及在2021年和2022年获得研究生医学教育认证委员会的初步认可以来，申请人和项目一直在权衡这一转变的利弊。本研究考察了家庭医学住院医师申请人对债务的担忧所产生的影响，以及他们（1）接受虚拟面试邀请的可能性，和（2）为未来申请周期推荐数字形式的可能性。
利用美国家庭医师学会2023年医学生教育调查的回复，我们应用描述性双变量分析和快速循环主题评估，以探讨2023年家庭医学住院医师申请人的债务担忧与他们对数字住院医师面试的看法之间的关联。
我们研究样本中的大多数（86%）有一定程度的债务担忧。大多数人（88.8%）还指出，他们的大多数面试都是虚拟的。无论是否担心债务，大多数学生（87.4%）表示，他们接受了虚拟面试邀请，而如果涉及旅行时间和费用，他们可能不会接受这些邀请。此外，大多数学生（87.1%）建议在未来的住院医师面试中采用虚拟环节。
与我们的预期相反，对债务的担忧与对虚拟面试的偏好之间没有关联。大多数候选人更喜欢虚拟面试形式，称他们更有可能接受虚拟面试邀请，并建议在未来的申请周期采用这种形式。
