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Perceptions Of Resident Applicants About The Virtual Pre-Interview Reception
Ashley Choi, BS
1, Agastya Vaidya, BS
1, Rahman Sayed, BS
1, Neil Patel, BS, MBA
1, Evan Lipsitz, MD, MBA
1, Jeffrey Indes, MD
2, Paul Lajos, MD, MBA
1.
1Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA,
2UMass Chan Medical School-Lahey, Burlington, MA, USA.
OBJECTIVES: The virtual pre-interview reception (VPR) for residency programs is an integral component of the interview process. The current study seeks to examine the influence and perceptions of a VPR for vascular surgery residency and fellowship applicants at Montefiore Medical Center.
METHODS: Electronic surveys were distributed to vascular residency and fellowship applicants after interviews but before Match Day in the 2023-2024 application cycle. The survey was available to complete for 2 weeks after rank list preferences were submitted and before match results were known. The responses for each question were totaled and percentages were calculated. For surveys that were not completed in entirety, the data for the questions answered were recorded and included in the analysis with the denominator adjusted accordingly.
RESULTS: 29 of 63 applicants (46%) responded. The majority of applicants were 29-32 years old (38%) and male (66%). 52% applied into integrated 0+5 vascular residency while 48% applied into a 5+2 fellowship program. 45% reported themselves as married or had a significant other who would influence residency decisions, 14% were dating someone who would not influence residency decisions, and 41% were single. 44% stated that 90-100% of the programs applied to, hold a VPR. 72% of applicants had evening events the night before most residency interviews, with 93% reporting little to no stress about attending these events. Most applicants felt that pre-interview events were of moderate importance (52%), but 50% agreed that not attending would negatively impact impression of applicants and 41% believed it would also limit knowledge of programs. 24% described the information provided at these sessions as highly impactful on their program ranking decisions with 82% of applicants preferring only residents present at the events. 59% reported receiving a positive impression of the program from pre-interview event information, with 41% neutral impressions and no negative impressions. Unique traits of pre-interview events that applicants appreciated were food vouchers and drinks (29%) and attendance of staff outside of the vascular program (12%).
CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that applicants feel the negative effect of absence at a VPR influenced programs impressions more than any positive effect from attendance at the event. Applicants also prefer an informal setting with residents only and majority reported that VPR helped develop a greater positive impression of programs.
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