Interview Type and Signal Preferences of Interview Applicants to a Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Residency Program: A Pilot Study.

Abstract

Abstract: This study examined preferences in interview type and signals among applicants interviewed by a non-surgical residency program during the 2023-2024 application cycle. A Qualtrics survey was sent to 88 interview applicants of a university-based Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PM&R) residency program. Main outcomes included interview type preference the applicants had with our PM&R program only and their interview type preference with multiple PM&R programs, and preferred number of signals. A resulting 38% of applicants completed the survey. The responders (n = 33) had a similar sex and race distribution compared to all interview applicants. Regarding preferred interview type for our single program, 42% favored in-person, while 40% favored virtual. Those geographically closer to our program had similar interview-type preferences compared to participants from other regions. For multiple program interviews, 52% preferred hybrid, 24% virtual, and 15% in-person format. For signal preferences, 70% of the applicants preferred more than five program signals. The program signaling preference was similar between those with more versus less interviews, for which the cut-off of 10 interviews during the 2023-2024 application cycle was used. Overall, respondents did not have a preferred interview format with a single program, strongly preferred the hybrid format when considering multiple programs, and preferred more program signals.