Accepted Type
Oral
Code
OC1-2-4
Was this work accepted for CCME 2020?
no
Category
General Call (Workshop, Oral Presentation, Poster Presentation)
Type
Oral
Sub Type
Education Innovation
Will the presenter be a:
Other
Presenter Other
Faculty
Affiliation
Considered for Poster
yes
Title
Adapting the Admissions Interview During COVID-19: A comparison of in-person and video-based interviews' validity evidence
Length of Presentation
Background/Purpose
COVID-19 physical distancing limited many schools' ability to conduct in-person interviews for the 2020 admissions cycle. The University of Toronto was already in the midst of its interview process with two-thirds of the applicants having completed the in-person modified personal interview (MPI). As the university and surrounding region was shutdown, we shifted in the middle of the application cycle to a semi-synchronous video-based interview approach (vMPI). We describe the development, deployment, and evaluation of the two approaches in the midst of the admissions cycle.
Summary of the Innovation
Existing resources and tools were used to create a bespoke interview process with the assistance of applicants. The vMPI was similar in content and process to the MPI: a four station interview with each station mapped to attributes relevant to medical school success. Instead of live interviews, applicants recorded 5-minute responses to questions for each station using their own webcams or other hardware. These responses were later assessed by raters asynchronously. A total of 232 applicants completed the vMPI out of a total of 627. We compare the validity evidence for the vMPI to the MPI on the internal structure, relationship to other variables, and consequential validity including applicant and interviewer acceptability.
Evaluation Outcomes: The vMPI demonstrated similar reliability and factor structure to the MPI. Like the MPI, it was predicted by non-academic screening tools but not academic measures. Applicants' acceptability of the vMPI was positive. The vast majority of interviewers also found the vMPI to be acceptable and demonstrated confidence in their ratings.
Conclusion
Continuing physical distancing concerns will require multiple options for the admissions committee to select medical students. The vMPI is an example of a bespoke approach that schools can implement and may have advantages for selection beyond the COVID-19 pandemic. Future evaluation will examine additional validity evidence for the tool.
Keyword 1
admissions
Keyword 2
interviews
Keyword 3
validity
Level of Training
Undergraduate
Abstract Themes
Admissions
Additional Theme (First choice)
Undergraduate
Additional Theme (Second Choice)
Additional Theme (Third Choice)
Assessment
Authors
Presenter
Kulamakan Kulasegaram
Term 1
Yes
Term 2
Yes
Term 3
Yes
Term 4
Yes
Term 5
Yes
