Interviewing for Fellowships - My 2020 Experience

 From the 3/19/2021 newsletter

Perspective/Opinion

Interviewing for Fellowships - My 2020 Experience

David A. Campbell, MD - Department of Otolaryngology and Communication Sciences

Dr. Campbell, who will complete his otolaryngology residency in June 2021, talks about some of the plusses and minuses of interviewing for fellowships during the COVID-19 pandemic … 

“Please tell me you’re not in Atlanta yet!” 

It was March 12, 2020, the day before my first fellowship interview. In the days preceding, interviews dropped off the calendar one by one as travel restrictions tightened and hospital campuses closed their doors to non-essential workers. Some programs switched directly to virtual interviews, while others were hopeful they could have applicants in person by May or June (a wildly optimistic prospect, in hindsight). The Atlanta program finally shut their campus down and the coordinator was frantically trying to stop applicants from getting on flights. After being through medical school and residency interviews, I knew this would be very different. However, as I worked through nineteen virtual interviews spanning five months, I did find some surprises along the way.  

The first thought was how disappointing it was to be unable to visit the cities and hospitals I’d potentially be spending a year at. A very close second thought (in reality, probably a simultaneous thought) was how much money I’d save. Already, credit card bills were piling up and vacation days were evaporating. It was becoming clear that physically getting to 19 interviews was likely going to be impossible. However, on the virtual interview trail, I could attend a morning interview in Florida, an afternoon interview in California, and an evening Zoom social event in New York, all without leaving my apartment or spending a dime. Some programs scattered interviews over several days, meaning I could duck into a hospital workroom for 15 minutes at a time, using no vacation days at all. I’ll admit I did several interviews between cases wearing a suit coat and scrub pants.

Some aspects of the virtual process weren’t immediately obvious. One significant drawback was not meeting the other applicants. Otolaryngology is a small enough specialty that during the residency interview trail, applicants tend to run into each other several times. In the process of comparing notes on past and future interviews at social events or making small talk on the 10th hospital tour, many of us formed connections that only grew as we found each other at conferences throughout residency and will continue to grow as we move through our careers. The graduating ENT class of 2021 got to meet each other during the interview trail of 2016. Now, as I was virtually interviewing to enter the even smaller community of Head and Neck Surgical Oncology, I realized I was missing out on the opportunity to meet my soon-to-be colleagues. 

There were also some unexpected advantages to virtual interviews. As interviews approached, there was concern if programs and applicants could get to know each other as well on the virtual platforms. Similar to the residency match, the 10-to-15 minute interviews themselves are incredibly important for both applicant and program. A single awkward interaction vs. a meaningful connection can have huge impacts on how applicants and programs rank each other. Of course, there were the expected technological hiccups with lots of “I can hear you. Can you hear me?” However, I had several interviews that felt easier because they were virtual. While many physicians interviewed from their offices, I spoke to several world-famous Head and Neck surgeons from their homes. One particularly well-known surgeon was arriving home from work as the interview started. He greeted and introduced me to his wife and showed off the view from his yard (“This could be the type of view you get if you move here!”). From the applicant side, rather than being led into an office at an unfamiliar hospital after sleeping in a hotel bed, I was often interviewing from my apartment with my cats napping on my bed that was just steps away. While some ability to connect was undoubtedly lost with interviews being virtual, my guess is that both parties being in a familiar setting facilitated easier connections in a different way that would not have been possible in-person.  

I’ve heard the sentiment over and over that virtual interviews could never replace in-person interviews. In many ways, I agree with this. However, it was refreshing see people finding new ways to connect with each other when the world was turned upside down.

David A. Campbell, MD is a PGY5 in the Department of Otolaryngology and Communication Sciences at MCW. He will spend the 2021-2022 academic year as the Head and Neck Oncology - Microvascular Reconstructive Surgery Fellow at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mt. Sinai in New York City, a town which he has never actually visited.