Abstract
Background:
COVID-19 has impacted graduate medical education in many ways, including the interview process for fellowships. The Coalition for Physician Accountability, of which the accreditation council for graduate education (ACGME) is a member, recommended conducting online interviews and virtual visits for all applicants in 2020-2021. Limited evidence and guidelines exist regarding successful videoconference interview strategies for the fellowship application process.
Methods:
We review the literature on videoconferencing for fellowship positions to describe utilizing strategies that can lead to a successful interview. Databases searched include pubmed and google scholar, from the year 1999 to March of 2020 using the following key words: interview, videoconferencing, fellowships, COVID-19. In addition, a personal perspective from a virtual fellowship interview is included as original data.
Results:
Based upon a review of current literature and a new report from a fellowship applicant that are supportive of current evidence, strategies that can lead to a successful interview include: bright lighting, a neutral background, professional attire, and looking at the camera to simulate eye contact. Tactics that have lead to a less successful interview based on a review of current literature and personal perspectives include: looking at the screen which appears that the individual is looking down rather than making eye contact, the camera positioned too low rather than at eye level or higher, and inappropriate lighting.
Conclusion:
Fellowship virtual interviews may be enhanced by utilizing various videoconference strategies, which may improve the chance of a successful match outcome.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Recommended Citation
Grabnar M, Abd-Elsayed A, Kim C. Videoconferencing during COVID-19: strategies for a successful fellowship interview. Advances in Clinical Medical Research and Healthcare Delivery. 2021; 1(3). doi: 10.53785/2769-2779.1041.