A Pilot Survey on the Perceptions of Pediatric Subspecialty Fellows and Program Directors on Virtual Compared with In-Person Interview Experiences

Pediatric fellowship programs have conducted virtual interviews since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. In this national survey of fellowship program directors and fellows interviewed in-person and virtually, fellowship program directors and fellows formed accurate impressions, regardless of format, but our data did not clearly support one interview format over another.

Applicant Perceptions of In-Person versus Virtual Interview Format for Surgical Retina Fellowship

Purpose  This article compares applicants' perceptions of and experiences with virtual and in-person interviews for surgical retina fellowship. Methods  A survey was distributed via email to all applicants of three vitreoretinal surgery fellowship programs for the 2021 to 2022 and 2022 to 2023 application cycles. Main Outcome Measures  Participants were surveyed regarding cost; burden of scheduling; number of applications and interviews completed; ability to gain a true feel of the program, location, and preceptor; and number of work and surgical days missed. Results  Of 151 applicants contacted, 36 completed the survey (23.8% response rate). Of the respondents, 25.0% attended only virtual interviews, 19.4% attended mostly virtual interviews, 30.6% attended mostly in-person interviews, and 25.0% attended half virtual and half in-person interviews. Average expenditure was significantly lower for applicants with mostly and completely virtual interviews compared with applicants with mostly in-person and half virtual, half in-person ( p  < 0.001). Applicants with mostly virtual interviews reported a lower ability to gain a true perception of the program and the program location ( p  = 0.003 and p  < 0.001, respectively). There was no difference in burden of scheduling, number of interviews completed, or number of work and surgical days missed. When applicants were asked what type of interview format they would prefer if they could repeat the cycle, those who interviewed mostly in-person largely chose in-person as their preference (72.7%), while participants who interviewed mostly or completely virtually were evenly split between in-person, virtual, and hybrid ( p  = 0.136). Conclusion  As fellowship programs and institutions decide whether they will return to in-person interviews or maintain a virtual interview format in the long term, they must weigh the lower cost of virtual interviews with the improved ability to gain a more accurate perception of the program and location allowed by in-person interviews, as well as potentially greater satisfaction with the in-person format.

Phone-based monitoring to evaluate health policy and program implementation in Kenya

Monitoring and evaluating policies and programs in low- and middle-income countries are often difficult because of the lack of routine data. High mobile phone ownership in these countries presents an opportunity for efficient data collection through telephone interviews. This study examined the feasibility of collecting data on medicines through telephone interviews in Kenya. Data on the availability and prices of medicines at 137 health facilities and 639 patients were collected in September 2016 via in-person interviews. Between December 2016 and December 2017, monthly telephone interviews were conducted with health facilities and patients. An unannounced in-person interview was conducted with respondents to validate the telephone interview within 24 h. A bottom-up itemization costing approach was used to estimate the costs of telephone and in-person data collection. In-depth interviews were conducted with data collectors and respondents to explore their perceptions on both modes of data collection. The level of agreement between data on medicines availability collected through phone and in-person interviews was strong at the health facility level [kappa = 0.90; confidence interval (CI) 0.88–0.92] and moderate at the household level (kappa = 0.50, CI 0.39–0.60). Price data from telephone and in-person interviews showed strong intra-class correlation at health facilities [intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC) = 0.96] and moderate intra-class correlation at households (ICC = 0.47). The cost per phone interview at health facilities and households were $19.73 and $16.86, respectively, compared to $186.20 for a baseline in-person interview. Participants considered telephone interviews to be more convenient. In countries with high cell phone penetration, telephone data collection should be considered in monitoring and evaluating public health programs especially at health facilities. Additional strategies may be needed to optimize this mode of data collection at the household level. Variations in cell phone ownership, telecommunication network and data collection costs across different settings may limit the generalizability of the findings from this study.

A Comparison Between In-Person and Virtual Fellowship Interviews During the COVID-19 Pandemic

IMPORTANCE

Traditional in-person fellowship interviews require great time and financial commitments. Here, we studied the response of program directors (PDs) and applicants to virtual interviews. Virtual interviews could decrease both financial and time commitments.

OBJECTIVE

To determine if most applicants and PDs believed that virtual interviews should be used more widely in the future.

DESIGN

After the 2020 cardiothoracic fellowship match, an e-mail survey was sent to 66 program directors and 107 applicants using the Qualtrics platform.

SETTING

During the 2020 cardiothoracic fellowship interview cycle, the COVID-19 pandemic shut down travel for in-person interviews. This forced a transition to virtual interviews.

PARTICIPANTS

Of 107 applicants emailed, 46 (44%) participated with a completion rate of 87%. sixty-six PDs were contacted and of those, 36 (55%) participated with a 92% survey completion rate.

EXPOSURE

All survey participants were participants in the 2020 cardiothoracic match. MAIN OUTCOME(S) AND MEASURE(S): (1) The percent of participants who agree that virtual interviews should be continued in the future and the percent of participants who agree that virtual interviews could be replacements for in person interviews. (2) Were virtual interviews perceived to have a negative impact on one's ultimate match? (3) What is the current cost of an in-person interview in travel and lodging for an applicant?

RESULTS

Fourty-six applicants (44% participation rate) and 36 PDs (55% participation rate) participated in the survey. Seventy-nine percent of program directors and 55% of applicants either agreed or strongly agreed that virtual interviews should be offered in the future. However, just 15% of PDs and 20% of applicants either agreed or strongly agreed that virtual interviews should be offered without the option of an in-person interview. Twenty-five percent of PDs and applicants agreed or strongly agreed that virtual interviews negatively impacted their chance of matching one of their top applicants/programs. The median cost of an in-person interview was $600 (interquatile range 500-725).

CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE

Most applicants and PDs agree that virtual interviews should be offered in the future. Twenty-five percent of participants reported that they believed virtual interviews negatively impacted their match. Given the overall acceptance of virtual interviews and the cost of in-person interviews, virtual interviews could be useful to incorporate into future interview seasons.