How many schools adopt interviews during the student admission process across the health professions in the United States of America?

Abstract

Health profession schools use interviews during the admissions process to identify certain non-cognitive skills that are needed for success in diverse, inter-professional settings. This study aimed to assess the use of interviews during the student admissions process across health disciplines at schools in the United States of America in 2014. The type and frequency of non-cognitive skills assessed were also evaluated. Descriptive methods were used to analyze a sample of interview rubrics collected as part of a national survey on admissions in the health professions, which surveyed 228 schools of medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, nursing, and public health. Of the 228 schools, 130 used interviews. The most desirable non-cognitive skills from 34 schools were identified as follows: communication skills (30), motivation (22), readiness for the profession (17), service (12), and problem-solving (12). Ten schools reported using the multiple mini-interview format, which may indicate potential for expanding this practice. Disparities in the use of interviewing across health professions should be verified to help schools adopt interviews during student admissions processes.

Reliability of Multiple Mini-Interviews and traditional interviews within and between institutions: a study of five California medical schools

“…Partly due to concerns about inter-interviewer reliability, many schools have replaced TIs with Multiple Mini-Interviews (MMIs), in which applicants work through a series of brief, semi-structured assessment stations, each attended by a different trained rater [ 3 , 11 ]. Single-school studies examining the MMI in isolation suggest the approach yields moderate to high inter-rater reliability (range of Cronbach’s alphas reported 0.65–0.98; range of G coefficients reported 0.55–0.72), and predicts aspects of subsequent academic performance [ 3 , 12 – 16 ].…”

Exam performance of different admission quotas in the first part of the state examination in medicine: a cross-sectional study

“…The CanMEDS framework, for example, stresses the importance of communicative, collaborative and leadership skills [7]. The role of such skills is further emphasised by the Word Health Organization that identified them as essential prerequisites for effective interprofessional care [8,9]. Consequently, recent expert reports in Germany recommend social skills to be taught and evaluated in the course of the medical curriculum [10,11].…”

Admission Criteria as Predictors of Student Success in a Dental Hygiene Program

“…1,7,13,17,18 In addition, not all programs use interviews to the same extent that our program does although for U.S. medical schools the use of interviews increased from 35% in 2009 to 86.4% in 2016. 19,20 Glazer et al's study published in 2016 reported that, in the U.S., 97.2% of pharmacy schools and 88.3% of dental schools, but only 19.7% of nursing schools and 15.4% of public health schools used interviews. 20 The much lower use of interviews by public health and nursing schools is interesting.…”

“…19,20 Glazer et al's study published in 2016 reported that, in the U.S., 97.2% of pharmacy schools and 88.3% of dental schools, but only 19.7% of nursing schools and 15.4% of public health schools used interviews. 20 The much lower use of interviews by public health and nursing schools is interesting. Glazer et al suggest that more students are admitted to nursing programs than other types of programs, requiring more resources, and that at some nursing programs applications may be prescreened by the home institution, possibly decreasing the number of criteria examined by the nursing program.…”

“…However, the Registrar's Oice of the University of Alberta determines transfer credits and grading scales for prerequisite courses from diferent institutions in an attempt to mitigate this concern. 20 The much lower use of interviews by public health and nursing schools is interesting. Also of note was the lack of correlation between interview scores and program performance.…”