Interviewers' and interviewees' perceptions of the changes in recruitment of orthodontic specialty registrars

Abstract

Aim: To assess interviewers' and interviewees' perceptions of the National Recruitment for Orthodontic Specialty Registrars in 2012.

Design: Cross-sectional survey.

Methods: Interviewers and interviewees completed an anonymous questionnaire comprising of 25 and 16 questions, respectively. Statistical analysis included descriptive statistics and frequency distributions.

Results: All interviewees (83/83) and 88% (36/41) of interviewers completed the questionnaires. Of the interviewees, 61% were female; their mean age was 28·9 years (95% CI: 28·2-29·6). The mean time since bachelor of dental science (BDS) was 5·6 years (95% CI: 4·9-6·3) with 78% qualifying from a UK university. The interviewees preferred the multi-station interview (MSI) format, considered the questions easy to understand and thought that MSI was fairer than traditional interviews. Of the interviewers, 56% were male; their mean age was 45·5 years (95% CI: 43·0-48·0). The mean time that they had been a consultant was 11·4 years (95% CI: 8·7-13·1). The interviewers thought that the interviews were fair, tested an appropriate range of competences, selected the best candidates to be appointed and would appoint the same people if repeated.

Conclusions: Interviewees were very positive about the organization and perceived fairness of the MSI format. Interviewers were positive about the selection of candidates, fairness and conduct of the MSI format.

Keywords: Interviewers’ perceptions; National Recruitment; Orthodontic Specialty Trainees (StR); interviewees’ perceptions; multi-station interview (MSI).