AACOM Recommendations on Interview Format for Entry into Residency and Medical School

AACOM Recommendations on Interview Format for Entry into Residency and Medical School

For the past three years, AACOM participated with national organizations to issue recommendations to residency programs, students and medical schools on interviews for residency. These recommendations were spurred by the pandemic and the need to limit student travel to decrease the spread of COVID-19. In the first two years of the pandemic, AACOM joined efforts with the Coalition for Physician Accountability to recommend virtual interviewing for residency applications. Similarly, AACOM’s Board of Deans approved virtual medical school interviews for prospective students. It is evident now that virtual interviews are a significant cost saving for both students, medical schools and residency programs. Virtual interviews are also convenient and reduce time away from clinical rotations. They are a popular option among students and now adopted by many medical schools and residency programs.

Concurrently, we know that some graduate medical education (GME) programs and medical schools, as well as students, prefer in-person interviews or the option to visit an institution for a second look. This depends on the setting, such as institutions in rural, community-based settings. Surgical specialties and primary care specialties like family medicine also may choose to offer in-person interviews based on their specific needs. Regional differences also may impact preference for interview format. Some students may excel in the in-person environment and may want interpersonal connection of in-person experiences. These students may struggle with connecting with interviewers in a virtual setting. There is an overall sense that in-person interviews are advantageous for students and if given a choice between the two, students would feel that in-person interviews would be an advantage for a student. As such, programs avoid offering in-person options to limit the pressure on students to attend in-person and limit bias. However, there is a lack of adequate data to understand the interview formats, how bias may be introduced and impact this process and how interview formats may influence the likelihood of matching to a residency program or acceptance into medical school. There is also little data on attrition, if any, and the potential effect of interview format on attrition rates both in medical school and residency.

AACOM recommends that programs and medical schools remain flexible in their approach to interview format and choose the interview format that best suits their setting. For instance, a residency program in a rural setting may choose to have in-person interviews to better gauge candidates’ interest and comfort in the rural environment. Students concerned about the diversity commitment at a school or program may want to visit to better affirm their understanding. Programs and medical schools are encouraged to provide options for interview format, wherever possible, including in-person visits. More importantly, AACOM strongly recommends the gathering and sharing of data and analysis to better understand the interview format changes and their impact. AACOM recommends that programs and medical schools remain open to changes in interview format based on the data they collect and analyze. AACOM recently launched an initiative to spur more research in this area and issued a request for proposal to encourage data collection and study on the impact of interview format on various groups of students and institutions.

In conclusion, the move toward a mostly virtual interview format for both medical school and residency appears to be a positive change in medical education. However, AACOM believes it is important to continue to remain flexible and prioritize use of interview format based on the unique needs of the particular program or medical school. These decisions should be informed by data to better understand which interview format works best for the particular setting. Medical students should have options that best meet their priorities and strengths. AACOM urges medical schools, GME programs and national organizations to continue to gather and share data about interview formats and to provide evidence-based guidance and recommendations.