Background: The Association of American Medical Colleges instituted a standardized video interview (SVI) forall applicants to emergency medicine (EM). It is unclear how the SVI affects a faculty reviewer's decision on likelihood to invite an applicant (LTI) for an interview.Objectives: The objective was to determine whether the SVI affects the LTI.Methods: Nine Accreditation Council of Graduate Medication Education (ACGME)-accredited EM residency programs participated in this prospective, observational study. LTI was defined on a 5-point Likert scale as follows: 1 = definitely not invite, 2 = likely not invite, 3 = might invite, 4 = probably invite, 5 = definitely invite. LTI was recorded at three instances during each review: 1) after typical screening (blinded to the SVI), 2) after unblinding to the SVI score, and 3) after viewing the SVI video.Results: Seventeen reviewers at nine ACGME-accredited residency programs participated. We reviewed 2,219 applications representing 1,424 unique applicants. After unblinding the SVI score, LTI did not change in 2,065 (93.1%), increased in 85 (3.8%) and decreased in 69 (3.1%; p = 0.22). In subgroup analyses, the effect of the SVI on LTI was unchanged by United States Medical Licensing Examination score. However, when examining subgroups of SVI scores, the percentage of applicants in whom the SVI score changed the LTI was significantly different in those that scored in the lower and upper subgroups (p < 0.0001). The SVI video was viewed in 816 (36.8%) applications. Watching the video did not change the LTI in 631 (77.3%); LTI increased in 106 (13.0%) and decreased in 79 (9.7%) applications (p = 0.04).

IntroductionIn 2017, the Standardized Video Interview (SVI) was required for applicants to emergency medicine (EM). The SVI contains six questions highlighting professionalism and interpersonal communication skills. The responses were scored (6–30). As it is a new metric, no information is available on correlation between SVI scores and other application data. This study was to determine if a correlation exists between applicants’ United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) and SVI scores. We hypothesized that numeric USMLE Step 1 and Step 2 Clinical Knowledge (CK) scores would not correlate with the SVI score, but that performance on the Step 2 Clinical Skills (CS) portion may correlate with the SVI since both test communication skills.MethodsNine EM residency sites participated in the study with data exported from an Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS®) report. All applicants with both SVI and USMLE scores were included. We studied the correlation between SVI scores and USMLE scores. Predetermined subgroup analysis was performed based on applicants’ USMLE Step 1 and Step 2 CK scores as follows: (≥ 200, 201–220, 221–240, 241–260, >260). We used linear regression, the Kruskal-Wallis test and Mann-Whitney U test for statistical analyses.Results1,325 applicants had both Step 1 and SVI scores available, with no correlation between the overall scores (p=0.58) and no correlation between the scores across all Step 1 score ranges, (p=0.29). Both Step 2 CK and SVI scores were available for 1,275 applicants, with no correlation between the overall scores (p=0.56) and no correlation across all ranges, (p=0.10). The USMLE Step 2 CS and SVI scores were available for 1,000 applicants. Four applicants failed the CS test without any correlation to the SVI score (p=0.08).ConclusionWe found no correlation between the scores on any portion of the USMLE and the SVI; therefore, the SVI provides new information to application screeners.

IntroductionIn 2017, all medical students applying for residency in emergency medicine (EM) were required to participate in the Standardized Video Interview (SVI). The SVI is a video-recorded, uni-directional interview consisting of six questions designed to assess interpersonal and communication skills and professionalism. It is unclear whether this simulated interview is an accurate representation of an applicant’s competencies that are often evaluated during the in-person interview.ObjectiveThe goal of this study was to determine whether the SVI score correlates with a traditional in-person interview score.MethodsSix geographically and demographically diverse EM residency programs accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education participated in this prospective observational study. Common demographic data for each applicant were obtained through an Electronic Residency Application Service export function prior to the start of any scheduled traditional interviews (TI). On each TI day, one interviewer blinded to all applicant data, including SVI score, rated the applicant on a five-point scale. A convenience sample of applicants was enrolled based on random assignment to the blinded interviewer. We studied the correlation between SVI score and TI score.ResultsWe included 321 unique applicants in the final analysis. Linear regression analysis of the SVI score against the TI score demonstrated a small positive linear correlation with an r coefficient of +0.13 (p=0.02). This correlation remained across all SVI score subgroups (p = 0.03).ConclusionOur study suggests that there is a small positive linear correlation between the SVI score and performance during the TI.