TY - JOUR
T1 - Virtual Interviews during COVID-19 Pandemic
T2 - A Survey of Applicants to Fellowships in Female Pelvic Medicine and Reconstructive Surgery
AU - Gaigbe-Togbe, Bertille H.A.
AU - Menhaji, Kimia
AU - Tran, Ann D.
AU - Bui, Anthony H.
AU - Ascher-Walsh, Charles
AU - Dabney, Lisa
AU - Hardart, Anne
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© American Urogynecologic Society. All rights reserved.
PY - 2021
Y1 - 2021
N2 - Objectives The objective was to assess female pelvic medicine and reconstructive surgery (FPMRS) fellowship applicants' perspectives on the effectiveness of the virtual interview format for creating their rank lists. Methods This was an anonymous internet-based survey study of applicants to the FPMRS fellowships in the United States, conducted from July 21, 2020, to August 5, 2020. A 34-item questionnaire queried applicants on satisfaction with interviews, comfort with creating a rank list and time, and financial cost of interviews. Applicants were invited to complete the survey via standardized emails distributed via the REDCap secure database. Results Forty-two (56.7%) of 74 applicants completed the survey. The majority of respondents were somewhat satisfied or very satisfied (92.9%) with the virtual interview process and felt comfortable ranking the programs (83.3%). A total of 9.8% of respondents found virtual interviews somewhat or much better than in-person interviews with regards to being informative and helpful, whereas 61% found them to be about the same. A majority (75.6%) found virtual interviews somewhat or much less stressful compared with in-person interviews. The majority (97.5%) spent less than $2,000 during the application process compared with more than $4,000 (87.8%) that they had anticipated spending if the interviews were in person. Conclusions Our data revealed that FPMRS applicants overall had a positive experience with the virtual interview platform and felt comfortable creating a rank list of programs based on those interviews.
AB - Objectives The objective was to assess female pelvic medicine and reconstructive surgery (FPMRS) fellowship applicants' perspectives on the effectiveness of the virtual interview format for creating their rank lists. Methods This was an anonymous internet-based survey study of applicants to the FPMRS fellowships in the United States, conducted from July 21, 2020, to August 5, 2020. A 34-item questionnaire queried applicants on satisfaction with interviews, comfort with creating a rank list and time, and financial cost of interviews. Applicants were invited to complete the survey via standardized emails distributed via the REDCap secure database. Results Forty-two (56.7%) of 74 applicants completed the survey. The majority of respondents were somewhat satisfied or very satisfied (92.9%) with the virtual interview process and felt comfortable ranking the programs (83.3%). A total of 9.8% of respondents found virtual interviews somewhat or much better than in-person interviews with regards to being informative and helpful, whereas 61% found them to be about the same. A majority (75.6%) found virtual interviews somewhat or much less stressful compared with in-person interviews. The majority (97.5%) spent less than $2,000 during the application process compared with more than $4,000 (87.8%) that they had anticipated spending if the interviews were in person. Conclusions Our data revealed that FPMRS applicants overall had a positive experience with the virtual interview platform and felt comfortable creating a rank list of programs based on those interviews.
KW - COVID-19
KW - FPMRS fellowship
KW - fellowship interviews
KW - video interviews
KW - virtual platforms
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85114397081&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1097/SPV.0000000000001031
DO - 10.1097/SPV.0000000000001031
M3 - Review article
C2 - 34236160
AN - SCOPUS:85114397081
SN - 2151-8378
VL - 27
SP - e626-e629
JO - Female Pelvic Medicine and Reconstructive Surgery
JF - Female Pelvic Medicine and Reconstructive Surgery
IS - 9
ER -