Medical student selection: choice of a semi-structured panel interview or an unstructured one-on-one interview

Reliability has been shown to be higher in structured medical admissions interviews as compared to unstructured interviews. This study reports the comparison of a proposed semi-structured panel interview with a current individual unstructured medical admissions interview. Inter-rater reliability coefficients were calculated, and correlations were estimated between panel, individual and academic scores. Admission status in 2003 was related to these scores by means of logistic regression. Both individual and panel interviews were significantly correlated with admissions status. The inter rater reliability coefficient (from individual interviews) was 0.12 whereas the interpanel reliability coefficient was 0.52. Panel interview: good across panel and within panel consistency of scoring. No effect of who asked the questions, question order, or interview duration on scoring. No correlation between panel interview scores and academic variables (MCAT, GPA). We found good inter-panel reliability, a high consistency within and between interview panels, and uniformly positive questionnaire responses. The panel interview measures something different from academic variables. These data, in conjunction with a strong sense from the medical and psychological literature supporting the reliability and validity of a semi-structured panel interview, support our decision to replace our individual interview with the panel interview.