Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2021 Oct 22;7(10):FSO752.
doi: 10.2144/fsoa-2021-0046. eCollection 2021 Dec.

Do medical student mental stress and burnout vary with virtual versus in-person residency interviews

Dani Zoorob  1 , Kara Richardson  1 , Korina Gaishauser  1 , Benjamin Hinkel  1 , Hind N Moussa  2 , James Van Hook  1 , Rose A Maxwell  3
Affiliations

Do medical student mental stress and burnout vary with virtual versus in-person residency interviews

Dani Zoorob et al. Future Sci OA. .

Abstract

Aim: This study aimed to identify medical student stressors and mitigation methodologies based on interview modality.

Materials & methods: A survey was administered to obstetrics and gynecology applicants in in-person (IP) and virtual (VR) National Resident Matching Program cycles. This included demographics, the Mayo Clinic Medical Students Well-Being Index and stressor questions.

Results: A total of 137 of 151 surveys were completed (91% response rate). Subjective stress was significant in 76% of IP and 57% of VR applicants (p = 0.07). The objective Mayo Clinic Medical Students Well-Being Index values were higher in the IP (2.47 ± 1.75) compared with the VR group (2.00 ± 1.55; p = 0.10), suggesting lower stress with VR interviews. More IP (53%) compared with VR applicants (44%) were deemed 'at risk' (p < 0.01).

Conclusion: VR interviews may mitigate select stressors during interviews.

Keywords: NRMP; applications; burnout; interview; medical student; obstetrics and gynecology; residency; stress; virtual.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Financial & competing interests disclosure The authors have no relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript. This includes employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, grants or patents received or pending, or royalties. No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.

References

    1. Ludwig AB, Burton W, Weingarten J, Milan F, Myers DC, Kligler B. Depression and stress amongst undergraduate medical students. BMC Med. Educ. 15, 141 (2015). - PMC - PubMed
    1. Almojali AI, Almalki SA, Alothman AS, Masuadi EM, Alaqeel MK. The prevalence and association of stress with sleep quality among medical students. J. Epidemiol. Glob. Health 7(3), 169–174 (2017). - PMC - PubMed
    1. Hope V, Henderson M. Medical student depression, anxiety and distress outside North America: a systematic review. Med. Educ. 48(10), 963–979 (2014). - PubMed
    1. Daya Z, Hearn JH. Mindfulness interventions in medical education: a systematic review of their impact on medical student stress, depression, fatigue and burnout. Med. Teach. 40(2), 146–153 (2018). - PubMed

    2. •• Used as a basis for formulating the study concept.

    1. Dyrbye LN, Massie FS, Eacker A et al. Relationship between burnout and professional conduct and attitudes among US medical students. JAMA 304(11), 1173–1180 (2010). - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources