Assessing Program Culture in Virtual Fellowship Interviews: Insights From Pulmonary and Critical Care Fellows

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine
• Virtual Interviewing

Background:

• The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the adoption of virtual interviewing for fellowship programs.
• Uncertainty exists regarding the effectiveness of virtual interviews in assessing program culture.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore how pulmonary and critical care fellows perceive program culture during virtual and in-person recruitment interviews.
• To enhance virtual recruitment interview processes.

Main Methods:

• Semi-structured interviews with current pulmonary and critical care fellows.
• Exploration of four deductive themes and inductive thematic analysis of transcripts.
• Focus on fellows' perspectives on program culture and evaluation methods during recruitment interviews.

Main Results:

• Most interviewed fellows (9/11) experienced virtual recruitment interviews.
• Favorable perceptions of program culture were reported regardless of interview format.
• Valued program culture elements include training quality, academic focus, case complexity, diversity, and a supportive environment.

Conclusions:

• Fellowship candidates can evaluate essential program culture elements via virtual interviews.
• Ample opportunities for high-quality interactions with faculty and trainees are key for effective virtual assessments.