Do Lower Costs for Applicants Come at the Expense of Program Perception? A Cross-Sectional Survey Study of Virtual Residency Interviews

Travel costs and application fees make in-person residency interviews expensive, compounding existing financial burdens on medical students. We hypothesized virtual interviews (VI) would be associated with decreased costs for applicants compared to in-person interviews (IPI) but at the expense of ga...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of graduate medical education 2022-12, Vol.14 (6), p.666-673
Main Authors: Wang, Sheri, Denham, Zachary, Ungerman, Elizabeth A, Stollings, Lindsay, McCausland, Julie B, Hamilton, Melinda Fiedor, Gonzaga, Alda Maria, Bump, Gregory M, Metro, David G, Adams, Phillip S
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Costs and Cost Analysis
Cross-Sectional Studies
Humans
Internship and Residency
Original Research
Perception
Surveys and Questionnaires
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Summary:Travel costs and application fees make in-person residency interviews expensive, compounding existing financial burdens on medical students. We hypothesized virtual interviews (VI) would be associated with decreased costs for applicants compared to in-person interviews (IPI) but at the expense of gathering information with which to assess the program. To survey senior medical students and postgraduate year (PGY)-1 residents regarding their financial burden and program perception during virtual versus in-person interviews. The authors conducted a single center, multispecialty study comparing costs of IPI vs VI from 2020-2021. Fourth-year medical students and PGY-1 residents completed one-time surveys regarding interview costs and program perception. The authors compared responses between IPI and VI groups. Potential debt accrual was calculated for 3- and 7-year residencies. Two hundred fifty-two (of 884, 29%) surveys were completed comprising 75 of 169 (44%) IPI and 177 of 715 (25%) VI respondents. The VI group had significantly lower interview costs compared to the IPI group (median $1,000 [$469-$2,050 IQR] $784-$1,216 99% CI vs $3,200 [$1,700-$5,500 IQR] $2,404-$3,996 99% CI,
ISSN:1949-8349
1949-8357
DOI:10.4300/JGME-D-22-00332.1