Impact of Gift Giving During General Surgery Resident Match Interviewing Since Initiation of Virtual Interviews
Author Department
Surgery; Pediatrics
Document Type
Article, Peer-reviewed
Publication Date
8-2024
Abstract
Objective: Following the transition to virtual interviews in 2021, interviewees began receiving gifts as a recruitment strategy in lieu of the preinterview dinner. This study characterizes quantity, type, and frequency of gift receipt in relation to program perception and ranking.
Design: An anonymous survey study was conducted. Variables included demographics, interview modality, gift type, frequency of gift receipt, monetary value, and changes in program perception and ranking. Descriptive analyses and Pearson's chi-square testing were performed.
Setting: Single institution with a medium to large general surgery program size.
Participants: All general surgery residents at the single institution without exclusion.
Results: About 25 residents responded (60% response). Two respondents (8%) participated in both in-person (IPIs) and virtual interviews (VIs). About 72% (n = 18) participated in VIs, 36% (n = 9) IPIs. About 68% matched in 2021 or later. Overall, 76% received a gift during interviews. 100% of IPIs received a gift, while 67% of VIs received a gift. 88.9% of IPIs received a meal. VIs received: meal shared (28.6%), meal not shared (14.3%), food-specific gift card (28.6%), other food items (21.4%), or other (7.1%). About 66.7% of IPIs (n = 6) reported 76% to100% of programs offered a meal, whereas no VIs reported 76% to 100% of programs offering (p = 0.0002). VIs were less likely to have a shared meal experience (p = 0.017). About 55.5% of IPIs and VIs received nonfood gifts. Residents' perception of a program's interest, resources, and ranking of the program were not significantly different based on gifting.
Conclusion: Virtual interviews introduced heterogeneity in the receipt of gifts. The impact of a variable gifting experience is uncertain but raises concern for a potential new source of bias in the recruitment process.
Keywords: Interview; Match; bias; gift; resident.
Recommended Citation
Rosenberg M, Subillaga O, Perez Coulter A, Tashjian D, Seymour N, Tirabassi MV. Impact of Gift Giving During General Surgery Resident Match Interviewing Since Initiation of Virtual Interviews. J Surg Educ. 2024 Aug 31;81(11):1498-1503. doi: 10.1016/j.jsurg.2024.07.012. Epub ahead of print.
PMID
39217680
