Analyzing the effect of interview time and day on emergency medicine residency interview scores.

BACKGROUND: When it comes to scheduling interviews, medical students may wonder if they need a strategy to increase their likelihood of matching. Previous studies examined the temporal effects of the residency interview on overall match rate; however, there are additional factors that affect the match process, including board examination scores and letters of recommendation. Only few studies have examined the effect interview time of day has on match success. The current study examines the impact date and time of interview during the interview season have on candidates' respective interview scores. METHODS: Interview data over a three-year period (i.e., three interview cycles) was examined at a PGY-1-3, ACGME-accredited EM residency program in Philadelphia. Date of interview and time of day of interview (i.e., morning versus afternoon) was examined. A linear regression analysis was performed to determine if there is a statistically-significant difference in overall interview scores based on date during the interview season and time of day. RESULTS: There is no statistically-significant effect of time of day or date on residency interview scores. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings are congruent with other studies on the temporal effects of residency interviews on overall match rate. Findings should provide reassurance to students scheduling interviews, as time slots have not been found to have a significant relationship with overall interview score. Future studies should more holistically analyze the residency application process.

Effective Use of Virtual Gamification During COVID-19 to Deliver the OB-GYN Core Curriculum in an Emergency Medicine Resident Conference.

Introduction Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has challenged medical educators on continuing to provide quality educational content in a virtual setting. The objective of this module was to create a gamified review of core obstetric and gynecology (OB-GYN) topics that residents would find educational and informative. Methods The game created was modeled after the TV show "So You Think You Can Dance?", with a warm-up and several rounds of rapid-fire OB-GYN questions and cases, eliminating teams to a final face-off. The residents were given a post-session survey to determine their attitudes and learning towards this virtual conference approach. Results Based on the post-session survey, the majority of the residents found this activity to be educational, entertaining, engaging, and better than the traditional lecture format. Conclusion This initial attempt at migrating gamification, a core component of our live conferences, into the new virtual arena, was well-received by learners as effective, educational, and engaging. This style of gamification can be incorporated into residency programs at other institutions currently limited to virtual platforms to boost resident education and engagement.

Gamification of Hospital Utilization: Incorporating Cost-consciousness in Daily Practices.

Healthcare costs in the United States have skyrocketed over the past decade, contributing to an estimated $750 billion in wasteful spending annually. Despite the demand to improve residency education on value-based, cost-conscious healthcare, there is no consensus on how to best teach this practice. Traditional lectures have failed to demonstrate enduring change in clinical practice patterns, provider attitudes, and reductions in hospital expenditures. We sought to evaluate whether gamification is an effective pedagogical tool to teach cost-consciousness to emergency medicine (EM) residents by creating a 60-minute interactive session based on the popular gameshow, the Price is Right. Costs and associated charges for common laboratory tests, radiographic studies, medications, and common physical resources typically found in the emergency department (ED) were first obtained through direct communication with the ED clinical director and hospital leadership. The session itself consisted of three phases with several Price-is-Right-themed games, which included realistic visual stimuli reminiscent of the gameshow that were created by the authors using the PowerPoint. Formal quantitative and qualitative feedback was solicited at the end of the session. Quantitative evaluation of the educational intervention was obtained through a 22-item questionnaire using a five-point Likert-type scale from 19 of the 22 enrolled residents (86% response rate). Responses were generally very positive with an overall course rating score of 4.16 (SD +/- 0.90). Qualitative feedback identified learners' predilection for gamified delivery of nonclinical content during conference. The majority of residents (89%) recommend the activity to be used in subsequent offerings to other learners. With healthcare costs on the rise, our feasibility study demonstrated that gamification is an effective way to teach mindful, cost-conscious care to EM residents. Gamification offers a fun and engaging alternative that should be further utilized in EM educational formats. Future studies are needed to longitudinally assess the learner retention and cost-containment practices.