Who Interviews Residency Applicants? A National Study of Pediatric Programs' Practices

Area of Science:

• Medical education
• Residency recruitment
• Applicant assessment

Background:

• Interviews are crucial for residency selection.
• Traditionally, faculty conducted most interviews.
• A trend towards using non-faculty interviewers is emerging in pediatric residency programs.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify non-faculty interviewer prevalence in pediatric residency.
• To understand motivations for using non-faculty interviewers.
• To explore perceived benefits and challenges of non-faculty interviewers in recruitment.

Main Methods:

• Survey distributed to US pediatric residency program leaders (September-December 2022).
• Data analyzed using descriptive statistics.
• Inductive content analysis for qualitative responses.

Main Results:

• 71% of programs utilize non-faculty interviewers.
• Chief residents (58%), residents (31%), and fellows (14%) are common non-faculty interviewer groups.
• Perceived benefits include diverse perspectives and increased interviewer numbers; challenges involve scheduling and training.

Conclusions:

• Non-faculty interviewers are widely used in pediatric residency recruitment.
• Inclusion of non-faculty interviewers is generally viewed positively, despite challenges.
• Findings offer insights for programs refining interview strategies.