Elsevier

Urology

Volume 173, March 2023, Pages 34-40
Urology

Education
The Impact of Holistic Review of Urology Residency Applications on Selection for Interview During the COVID-19 Pandemic

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.urology.2022.11.034Get rights and content

Objective

To investigate the impact of a holistic review of urology residency applications on interview selection at our institution during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods

In the 2019-2020 cycle, applicants were filtered by a Step 1 score of 230 and whether they applied from selected east coast medical schools. For the 2020-2021 and 2021-2022 cycles, we implemented a scoring system which focused on desirable attributes based on our program training needs and resources. We compared applicant and interviewee demographics and United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) scores using descriptive statistics and 1-way analysis of variance tests.

Results

A total of 282, 300, and 367 students applied to our residency program with 50, 45, and 52 selected for interviews during the 2019-2020, 2020-2021, and 2021-2022 cycles, respectively. Compared to 2019-2020, the 2020-2021 and 2021-2022 interviewee cohorts comprised of more non-tri-state applicants (36%, 55.6%, and 46.2%, respectively). Underrepresented minority representation increased for the 2020-2021 interviewee cohort; however, this was not observed in 2021-2022 (16%, 24.4%, 15.4%, respectively). Additionally, USMLE Step 1 and 2 scores were similar between interviewee cohorts in 2019-2020, 2020-2021 and 2021-2022, respectively (Step 1: 244.2 ± 8.8, 242 ± 12.1, 242.8 ± 12.4, P = .624) (Step 2: 249.1 ± 11.5, 251.5 ± 10.5, 254.4 ± 10.8, P = .143).

Conclusion

Utilizing a comprehensive review resulted in a geographically diverse interview pool and no significant difference in academic performance among interviewees. Holistic review provides an alternative, balanced evaluation of residency applicants which may increase diversity in urology.

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Financial Disclosure: The authors declare that they have no relevant financial interests.

Author Contributions: AS performed data analysis, wrote, and edited the manuscript. JN performed data collection and edited the manuscript. JL edited the manuscript. AS edited the manuscript. NA conceived and designed the analysis, edited the manuscript, approved the final version, and is the article guarantor.

Informed Consent: Informed consent was not needed, as applicant data were secured and de-identified.

Prior Presentations: This project was presented at the AUA annual meeting in September 2021.

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