Orthopedic Surgery Applicants: What They Want in an Interview and How They Are Influenced by Post–Interview Contact

• Published in: Journal of surgical education Vol. 73; no. 4; pp. 709 - 714
• Main Authors: Camp, Christopher L., MD, Sousa, Paul L., MD, Hanssen, Arlen D., MD, Karam, Matthew D., MD, Haidukewych, George J., MD, Oakes, Daniel A., MD, Turner, Norman S., MD
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Inc 01.07.2016
• Subjects: Adult; cost; Education, Medical, Graduate; Female; Humans; Internship and Residency; Interpersonal and Communication Skills; Interpersonal Relations; Interviews as Topic; Male; medical students; orthopedic surgery; Orthopedics - education; Personnel Selection; Professionalism; Prospective Studies; residency application; School Admission Criteria; Surgery; Systems-Based Practice; Interpersonal Skills and Communication; cost; medical students; orthopedic surgery; Systems-Based Practice; residency application; Professionalism; Interpersonal and Communication Skills
• ISSN: 1931-7204; 1878-7452
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jsurg.2016.03.009

Objectives Common strategies for orthopedic residency programs to attract competitive applicants include optimizing the interview day and contacting favorably ranked applicants postinterview. The purpose of this work was to determine (1) applicants’ perspectives on the ideal interview day, (2) how frequently applicants are contacted postinterview, and (3) the influence of this contact on rank order lists (ROL). Design Prospective Comparative Survey Setting Mayo Clinic Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Rochester, MN, USA Participants A survey was completed by 312 successfully matched orthopedic surgery residency applicants following the 2015 match regarding their views of the ideal interview day, components they valued most, post–interview contact, and how that contact influenced their ROL. Results Applicants stated they preferred interviews that lasted 15 (55%) minutes, a mean of 1.7 (range: 1-5) interviewers present per interview, 5 total interviews (range: 1-10) in a day, an interview with residents (96%), and interviews days lasting only a half day (88%). The majority (94%) desire a social event attended by only residents (54%) or staff and residents (46%). Few wanted an assessment of surgical skills (36%) or orthopedic knowledge (23%). The interview day was rated very valuable in determining their ROL (4.4 out of 5.0). Applicants told a mean of 1.7 (range: 0-11) programs they were “ranking the program highly” and 0.8 (range: 0-5) programs they were “going to rank them #1.” Of the 116 (40%) applicants contacted by programs following interviews, 24 (21%) moved programs higher and 3 (3%) moved programs lower on their ROL. Conclusions Orthopedic Surgery applicants have clear preferences for what they consider to be the ideal interview day and many alter their ROL following post–interview contact. These data may be beneficial to programs looking to optimize the interview experience for applicants.