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Comparison of the multiple mini-interview with the traditional interview for U.S. emergency medicine residency
William E Soares1, Aparajita Sohoni, Herbert G Hern
1Dr. Soares is clinical associate, Department of Emergency Medicine, Baystate Health Center-Tufts Medical Center, Springfield, Massachusetts. Dr. Sohoni is clinical instructor, Department of Emergency Medicine, Alameda Health System-Highland Hospital, Oakland, California. Dr. Hern is program director, Department of Emergency Medicine, Alameda Health System-Highland Hospital, Oakland, California. Dr. Wills is associate program director, Department of Emergency Medicine, Alameda Health System-Highland Hospital, Oakland, California. Dr. Alter is research director, Department of Emergency Medicine, Alameda Health System-Highland Hospital, Oakland, California. Dr. Simon is chair of emergency medicine, Department of Emergency Medicine, Alameda Health System-Highland Hospital, Oakland, California.
Purpose:
The multiple mini-interview (MMI) is a validated interview technique used primarily to evaluate medical school applicants. No study has compared MMIs with traditional interviews (TIs) in the evaluation of U.S. emergency medicine residency (EMR) applicants.
Method:
During the 2011-2012 interview season, a four-station MMI was incorporated into the interview process for EMR applicants at Alameda Health System-Highland Hospital (AHS). A postinterview anonymous questionnaire was offered to all applicants after they submitted their rank lists but prior to release of National Residency Matching Program results. Respondents rated their perceptions of the MMI and TI on a five-point Likert scale. McNemar chi-square test was used to explore differences in respondents' perceptions of interview styles.
Results:
One hundred ten interviewees completed the survey (73%). Overall, applicants found the TI more enjoyable than the MMI process (98 [89%] compared with 48 [44%], McNemar chi-square=28.66, P<.01) and preferred the TI process to the MMI (66 [60%] compared with 9 [10%], McNemar chi-square=40.81, P<.01). Sixteen applicants (14%) indicated that the use of the MMI would negatively affect their ranking of the program.
Conclusions:
In contrast to prior studies, U.S. EMR applicants to AHS preferred the TI to the MMI. Further investigation into the use of the MMI for selecting U.S. EMR applicants is warranted.
