Impact of COVID-19 on Radiology Residency Selection Process: A Survey of Radiology Residency Programs in the US

Abstract

Objective Virtual residency interviews have become crucial in maintaining CDC-recommended precautionary measures throughout the ongoing COVID-era. However, scant literature exists regarding the direct impact the pandemic has had on the radiology program selection process, including preferred modalities of residency interviews and social media utilization. This survey aimed to understand how radiology programs adapted to changes in the 2020-21 virtual application cycle. Methods A 32-question survey was distributed to 194 residency programs between July and August of 2021. Data were analyzed primarily by using descriptive statistics and Paired Student's T-testing. Results A total of 31 programs completed the survey, yielding a response rate of 16%. When queried about the perceived success of virtual interviews during the 2020-21 application cycle, 21 programs (68%) said the new interview format was very successful. 27 of the programs (87%) believed they were able to adequately gauge applicants through virtual interviews. However, when surveyed about personal preferences for interviews, the responses were more evenly distributed between virtual (11/31, 35%) and in-person (14/31, 45%). Pre-COVID, the top three criteria programs used to rank candidates were USMLE Step 1 score (20/31, 65%), letters of recommendation (17/31, 55%), and MSPE (12/31, 39%). Within the virtual, COVID-19 era, these criteria remained statistically unchanged (p = 0.22): USMLE Step 1 score (21/31, 68%), letters of recommendation (17/31, 55%), and MSPE (14/31, 45%). About half of programs who had not previously utilized social media (12 of 23, 52%) created accounts, mostly via Twitter or Instagram. Conclusion The primary findings indicate that programs perceived success with virtually interviewing and ranking applicants, the criteria to rank applicants remain unchanged despite the virtual environment, and programs’ social media utilization increased.

The effect of virtual interviews on the musculoskeletal radiology fellowship match

“…Individual free text comments also varied with positive, neutral, and negative responses regarding V-Int. This result differs from other recently reported surveys of residency directors who found V-Int more favorable and successful [ 5 , 10 ]. Respondents in our study were mixed about the future of V-Int.…”

“…The averaged preference of musculoskeletal radiology fellowship directors would be to have them comprise 40.6% of interviews in the future under ideal conditions. This finding is similar to the reticence to continue a full virtual format in other surveys of residency directors [ 5 , 10 ].…”

“…This could have the effect of essentially decreasing the interview pool as more programs would interview the same subset of highly qualified applicants [ 10 ]. With regard to residency recruiting practices, some programs reported offering more interviews than usual [ 5 ]. From the resident match perspective, some resident applicants admitted to applying to more programs and accepting more interviews, as was also suspected in our study of fellowship applicants.…”

Virtual residency recruitment: future directions in the new era

“…Fears that virtual interviews preclude full candidate assessment or communication of program attributes may be unfounded. Studies of the virtual interview process found that programs perceived they could present themselves and their program and assess applicant candidacy virtually [ 20 , 28 ]. During the pandemic, many institutions increased their social media presence to enrich the presentation of their program [ 29 , 30 ].…”

Virtual Interviews in Postgraduate Medical Education Recruitment: Is There a Future Post-Pandemic?

“…10,12,22,30,31 Despite these reports, other studies demonstrated that implementation of virtual interviews effectively met overall program and applicant goals without significant differences in interview outcomes, including candidate and program assessment, ranking, and matching. 1,11,20,21,33,41,42 Despite their many limitations, these studies suggest that virtual interviews were generally wellreceived, and both programs and applicants appear to favor a hybrid interview model for the future. 1,9,16,21,22 However, no studies have yet compared hybrid models to in-person-only or virtualonly models.…”