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Coordinated Dissemination of Interview Offers on Standardized Dates Limits Excessive Interviewing
Purpose: To determine if dissemination of interview offers on standardized dates mitigates excessive interviewing by residency applicants.
Background: Successful U.S. MD seniors applying into Ob/Gyn rank a median of 12 programs, beyond which there is >90% probability of matching. Yet many applicants complete interview offers above this threshold. Specialty-wide standards for the Ob/Gyn residency interview process in 2019-2020 recommended coordinating interview offers to be disseminated on October 8th and 15th. We sought to assess the efficacy of this strategy.
Methods: All Ob/Gyn applicants were surveyed in February 2020 regarding their demographics, application characteristics, and interviews offered and completed. Multiple logistic regression was used to assess for the association of receiving a majority of interviews on October 8th or 15th with interviewing excessively, controlling for other factors. IRB exemption was obtained.
Results: 750/2508 (30%) responded to the survey, including 505 U.S. MD seniors. 360 U.S. MD senior applicants received at least 12 interviews, completing a median of 83%. Among this cohort, receiving at least half of all interview offers on October 8th or 15th was negatively associated with completing more than the median percentage of interviews (OR 0.55; 95% CI 0.35-0.84; P < 0.01), controlling for the number of Ob/Gyn programs applied to, applying as a couple, and USMLE Step 1 score.
Discussions: Applicants may have greater context for choosing interviews to attend when offers are received on pre-determined dates. This preliminary data demonstrates that coordinated dissemination of interview offers may be an effective means to limit excessive interviewing amongst residency applicants.
Topics:
CREOG & APGO Annual Meeting, 2021, Student, Residency Director, Residency Coordinator, Professionalism, Systems-Based Practice & Improvement, GME, UME,
