key: cord-1016186-glrt3b8y
authors: Alvarado, Savannah; Grant-Kels, Jane M.
title: Ethical Issues Related to the Virtual Interviews Process Faced by Applicants and Programs
date: 2020-08-13
journal: J Am Acad Dermatol
DOI: 10.1016/j.jaad.2020.08.038
sha: d095fbd92bfef8f51a573707085e314d560fcd85
doc_id: 1016186
cord_uid: glrt3b8y

nan

Dear Dr. Dermatoethicist: 27 28 Due to COVID-19 there will be virtual-only interviews for this 2020 application cycle. 1, 2

This will reduce barriers that previously prevented applicants from over-accepting The responsibility for eluding this problem lies in applicants' ability to recognize the 51 consequences of applying and interviewing excessively and their subsequent 52 willingness to act justly. From the residency programs' perspective, the high volume of 53 applications hinders their ability to perform a holistic review of applicants. Unfortunately, 54 the subsequent accepting of interviews from programs that applicants do not have a 55 genuine interest in will prevent other qualified and sincerely interested applicants from 56 the opportunity to interview. Therefore, applicants should be counseled that very few 57 applicants with 11 or more contiguous ranks do not match. 3 Ideally, once applicants are advantage of coordinated interview scheduling. Rather they will hopefully judiciously 60 select the most fitting interviews rather than accommodating the highest number of 61 interviews possible.

Despite robust data on diminishing returns, dermatology applicants continue to apply to 63 more programs on average than any other specialty. 4 Therefore, rather than relying 64 solely on applicants to assume the ethical responsibility, programs should also aim to 65 more broadly distribute interviews by considering the following adjustments:

• Perform holistic application reviews, including assessment of fit, research, 67 volunteerism, diversity, etc.

• Consider supplemental application questions to afford applicants an opportunity 69 to express their particular interest in a program or geographic location.

• Consider increasing the number of candidates interviewed.

These measures will likely contribute to the beneficence of the program overall as they 72 will decrease the likelihood of having unfilled positions and will increase the likelihood of 73 identifying applicants that are the best match for your program. 

Residency Program Director Consensus Statement and Recommendations