THE INFLUENCE OF VIRTUAL INTERVIEWS ON THE FELLOWSHIP MATCH IN OBSTETRICS AND GYNECOLOGY (OBGYN)

Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate how a virtual interview process influences the Obstetrics and Gynecology fellowship match at a single institution. Materials and Methods: During the COVID-19 pandemic, the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) OBGYN Department conducted all interviews in a virtual setting. Applicants and faculty completed 20 and 13-question surveys, respectively. A 5-point Likert scale was used for survey responses. The fellowship interviewees included those applying to the Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility, Maternal Fetal Medicine, Gynecologic Oncology, Female Pelvic Medicine and Reconstructive Surgery, and Family Planning programs. Demographic data was collected and descriptive statistics were used to analyze data. Comparative analyses were performed with t-tests. Results: Surveys were distributed to 45 faculty members and 131 applicants with a response rate of 95.6% (n=43) and 46.6% (n=61), respectively. Of respondents, 83.7% (n=36) of faculty and 88.6% (n=54) of applicants agreed or strongly agreed that the video conference interviews (VCI) allowed them to accurately represent themselves (p=0.48). The majority of the applicants (62.3%, n=38) had a good understanding of the program’s culture after VCI. Over 70% (n=78) of applicants and faculty agreed or strongly agreed that they were able to form connections over VCI. Both applicants (67.2%, n=41) and faculty (83.7%, n=36) reported that the VCI helped them decide whether the program or candidate, respectively, was a good fit (p=0.98). Conclusions: Our data demonstrate that the majority of respondents could accurately represent themselves and form connections over VCI. Most importantly, both faculty and interviewees agreed that the VCI process helped to find a good match between applicant and program across all OBGYN fellowship programs. Given that in-person interviews require a significant amount of resources including time, unpredictable residency coverage issues, money, and coordination of travel, VCI is a viable option for fellowship interviews. Future studies should determine a standardized and evidenced-based approach for VCI. Impact Statement: The virtual interview model may be considered a long-term solution for fellowship interviews given the financial costs to the applicants and the time burden of the fellowship interview process for both the applicants and the residency programs. It will be important to optimize the VCI process so that applicants and departments can feel confident that the VCI process mirrors the match results of an in-person interview. Future research should investigate the impact of VCI on other avenues of training including the medical school and residency selection processes.