Rhoades authors two publications on virtual fellowship recruitment

UW Ob-Gyn Maternal-Fetal Medicine specialist and associate MFM fellowship director Janine Rhoades, MD, co-authored two articles in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology – Maternal-Fetal Medicine about the virtual fellowship recruitment season of 2020.

The two articles examined the 2020 MFM match process from candidates’ and program directors’ perspectives. “Maternal-fetal medicine program director experience of exclusive virtual interviewing during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic” shares results from a survey of 71 MFM fellowship program directors about their experience with virtual recruitment: 

“The virtual interview experience was better than expected for most program directors. However, most program directors felt less able to present their programs and assess the candidates on a virtual platform compared with previous in-person experiences. Despite this, most program directors are interested in at least a component of virtual interviewing in future years. Future efforts are needed to refine the virtual interview process to optimize the experience for program directors and candidates.”

The second article, “Effect of virtual interviewing on applicant approach to and perspective of the Maternal-Fetal Medicine Subspecialty Fellowship Match”, examines the same virtual Match process from the perspective of candidates, and compares data collected from 2020 candidates to MFM fellows who interviewed in previous years. Experiences reported by 2020 fellowship applicants differed from applicants who participated in mostly in-person Match seasons in a few key ways: virtual applicants reported applying to more programs, spending less time away from work during the interview process, and spending less money.

Both publications provide excellent insight for approaching future fellowship recruitment seasons. Incredible work, Dr. Rhoades!