Journal of oral and maxillofacial surgery : official journal of the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons
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J. Oral Maxillofac. Surg. · Aug 2021
What Are the Lessons Learned From the Virtual Interview Process for Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Residency Programs Affected by COVID-19?
With the outbreak of COVID-19, residency programs for the 2020 to 2021 OMS interview cycle were forced to quickly adapt to a new method of assessing candidates-virtual interviewing-for the first time. The purpose of this study is to describe applicants' perspectives regarding the advantages and disadvantages of the virtual interview process through an online descriptive survey. ⋯ Virtual format would allow access to a greater number of interviews; however, lack the ability to promote effective interaction between applicants, residents, and faculty members. The results of the study show that although applicants agreed that interviews were more accessible this year, they felt that the "personal" interaction was lacking and they could not present themselves effectively with the virtual format. Ultimately, almost half (49%) of the respondents do not wish for virtual interviews to continue in the future.