The Impact of Virtual Interviews on Recruitment and Implicit Bias

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated virtual residency interview adoption. The impact of virtual interviews on program di-rectors’ (PD) National Residency Matching Program (NRMP) Match satisfaction, their future interview plans, and their perceptions about virtual interviews’ influ-ence on bias are unknown. We report the results of a survey of family medicine (FM) PDs about these topics after mandatory virtual interviews in 2020-2021. METHODS: A national survey of all FM PDs was conducted in April 2021 (n=619). The response rate was 46.37% (n=287). Questions asked whether PDs conducted virtual interviews, as well as PDs’ general perceptions of virtual interviews’ impact on administrative burden, diversity and bias; PD’s ability to communicate program culture and assess applicants’ alignment with program values; PD’s satisfaction with Match results; and plans for interview structure postpandemic. RESULTS: Two hundred forty-four (93.1%) respondents performed only virtual interviews; 83.9% (n=220) conducting virtual interviews were satisfied with Match results, with no difference between programs with all virtual interviews vs others (OR 1.2, P=.994). PDs who communicated program values and in-volved residents in virtual interviews experienced higher Match satisfaction (OR 7.6, P