While the virtual recruitment experience seems to be most appealing to candidates, fellowships program directors and faculty who are part of the selection committee do not seem to be completely satisfied with the process and/or the outcome. Although virtual recruitment was shown to reduce financial costs and use of institutional resources,6 the major drawbacks were a lack of perception of the communication skills of the candidates as well as an inability to properly assess the interpersonal interactions with fellows and other applicants, both major keys to ranking decisions.10
Dr. Virginia Clark
Furthermore, the number of candidates who applied to our program has been steadily on the rise since the virtual platform was introduced. This has been the case nationwide and in other specialties as well.11 Applicants invited for an interview rarely decline or cancel the invitation due to the convenience of the virtual setting.6 These factors can affect the choice of candidates and subsequently the results of the match, especially for smaller programs. These observations create a new dilemma of whether fellowship programs need to consider increasing the number of their interviewees to ascertain a full match. Although the number of gastroenterology fellowship positions is steadily increasing with new program openings every year, it might not match the speed of the up-trending number of applicants. This certainly creates concern for fairness and equity in the selection process in this very competitive subspecialty.
As most gastroenterology programs continue to recruit their fellows virtually, it is important to keep in mind a few key elements to enhance the virtual experience. These include: a) familiarity of the interviewers and interviewees with video conference software to avoid technical problems, b) inclusion of up-to-date information about the program on the institutional website as well as videos or live-stream tours to show the physical aspect of the training sites (mainly the endoscopy areas) as alternatives to in-person tours,12 and c) timing of the interview, taking into consideration the different time zones of the invited applicants. Despite optimizing the virtual experience, some interviewees might still choose to visit in person. While this decision is solely voluntary and remains optional (at least in our program), it does allow program directors to indirectly evaluate candidates with a strong interest in the program.
In conclusion, there is no clear-cut answer to whether conducting interviews virtually is the best way to continue to recruit gastroenterology and hepatology fellows beyond the pandemic. While our perspective might be somewhat biased by the positive experience we had in the past few years recruiting our fellows virtually, this should be an individualized decision for every program. It is highly dependent on the location and size of each fellowship program, faculty engagement in the interview process, and the historical matching rates of the program. On a positive note, the individualized approach by each fellowship program should highlight the best features of the program and have a positive impact on recruitment at the local level. We have to bear in mind that a nonstandardized approach to fellow recruitment may have disadvantages to both programs and applicants with fewer resources to successfully compete and may introduce another element of uncertainty to an already stressful process for applicants and programs alike. As we continue to understand the implications of using the virtual platform and to reflect on the previous match results through the performance and satisfaction of the fellows recruited virtually, this option does not seem to have completely replaced in-person meetings. Further follow-up to evaluate the impact of virtual interviews should be done by surveying program directors nationally on the impact of match results before and after implementation of virtual interviews.
