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
. 2024 Mar;25(2):186-190.
doi: 10.5811/westjem.18581.

Virtual Interviews and the Pediatric Emergency Medicine Match Geography: A National Survey

Aline Baghdassarian  1   2 , Jessica A Bailey  3 , Derya Caglar  4   5 , Michelle Eckerle  6   7 , Andrea Fang  8 , Katherine McVety  9   10 , Thuy Ngo  11 , Jerri A Rose  12   13 , Cindy Ganis Roskind  14 , Melissa M Tavarez  15 , Frances Turcotte Benedict  16   17 , Joshua Nagler  18   19 , Melissa L Langhan  20
Affiliations

Virtual Interviews and the Pediatric Emergency Medicine Match Geography: A National Survey

Aline Baghdassarian et al. West J Emerg Med. 2024 Mar.

Abstract

Introduction: Virtual interviews (VI) are now a permanent part of pediatric emergency medicine (PEM) recruitment, especially given the cost and equity advantages. Yet inability to visit programs in person can impact decision-making, leading applicants to apply to more programs. Moreover, the cost advantages of VI may encourage applicants to apply to programs farther away than they might otherwise have been willing or able to travel. This could create unnecessary strain on programs. We conducted this study to determine whether PEM fellowship applicants would apply to a larger number of programs and in different geographic patterns with VI (2020 and 2021) as compared to in-person interviews (2018 and 2019).

Methods: We conducted an anonymous national survey of all PEM fellows comparing two cohorts: current fellows who interviewed inperson (applied in 2018/2019) and fellows who underwent VIs in 2020/2021 (current fellows and those recently matched in 2021). The study took place in March-April 2022. Questions focused on geographic considerations during interviews and the match. We used descriptive statistics, chi-square and t-tests for analysis.

Results: Overall response rate was 42% (231/550); 32% (n = 74) interviewed in person and 68% (n = 157) virtually. Fellows applied to a median of 4/6 geographic regions (interquartile range 2, 5). Most applied for fellowship both in the same region as residency (216, 93%) and outside (192, 83%). Only the Pacific region saw a statistically significant increase in applicants during VI (59.9% vs 43.2%, P = 0.02). There was no statistical difference in the number of programs applied to during in-person vs VI (mean difference (95% confidence interval 0.72, -2.8 - 4.2). A majority matched in their preferred state both during VI (60.4%) and in-person interviews (65.7%). The difference was not statistically significant (P = 0.45).

Conclusion: While more PEM fellowship applicants applied outside the geographic area where their residency was and to the Pacific region, there was no overall increase in the number of programs or geographic areas PEM applicants applied to during VI as compared to in-person interview seasons. As this was the first two years of VI, ongoing data collection will further identify trends and the impactof VI.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of Interest: By the WestJEM article submission agreement, all authors are required to disclose all affiliations, funding sources and financial or management relationships that could be perceived as potential sources of bias. No author has professional or financial relationships with any companies that are relevant to this study. There are no conflicts of interest or sources of funding to declare.

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Association of Pediatric Program Directors, Council of Pediatric Subspecialties, Association of Medical School Pediatric Department Chairs. et al. . APPD/CoPS/AMSPDC/NextGenPediatricians letter to our pediatrics community about the fellowship recruitment process. 2021. Available at: https://downloads.aap.org/AAP/PDF/2021_05_19_-_Pediatric_Fellowship_Recr.... Accessed July 15, 2022.
    1. Van Der Laan L, George R, Nesiama JA, et al. . Virtual interviewing for pediatric emergency medicine fellowship-a national survey. Pediatr Emerg Care. 2022;38(4):e1207–12. - PubMed
    1. Gupta S, Grier Arthur L, Chandler N, et al. . Is the changing landscape of fellowship recruitment during COVID-19 here to stay? J Pediatr Surg. 2022;57(10):445–50. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Das AJ, Augustin RC, Corbelli JA, et al. . Residency and fellowship program leaders’ perceptions of virtual recruitment and interviewing. J Grad Med Educ. 2022;14(6):710–3. - PMC - PubMed
    1. National Resident Matching Program . 2021 Applicant and program director survey findings: impact of the virtual experience on the transition to residency. 2021. Available at: https://www.nrmp.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Research-Brief-Virtual-E.... Accessed July 15, 2022.