Anesthesiology programs have conducted virtual interviews for residency recruitment since the 2020-2021 recruitment season. While the initial transition to virtual interviews was due to the COVID pandemic, programs and applicants have realized additional benefits, including decreased costs to programs and applicants and decreased time away from important medical school activities.
Background:
Osteopathic medical students must take COMLEX-USA examinations for graduation and for licensure in many jurisdictions. COMLEX-USA is aligned with the educational pathway and curriculum for osteopathic students and evidence-based for the practice of osteopathic medicine. Historically, osteopathic students applying to ACGME-accredited residency programs were frequently advised to take USMLE examinations, in addition to their COMLEX-USA, to be competitive at some programs.
The Society of Academic Associations of Anesthesiology & Perioperative Medicine (SAAAPM) is deeply concerned about government regulation that interferes with the confidential relationship between patients and their physicians and decisions surrounding reproductive health. The recent ruling by the United States Supreme Court in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization struck down five decades of legal precedent that protected the right of individuals to make personal reproductive health decisions. Shared decision making between patients and their physicians is the cornerstone of health and this relationship should not be dictated by legislation. The recent Supreme Court decision will exacerbate current reproductive health inequities present across the country. This decision will also have profound negative effects on medical education. Anesthesiologists play a critical role in the safe care of people requiring surgical procedures; thus, anesthesiologists-in-training must be educated to provide anesthesia for the spectrum of surgical reproductive health care. Finally, SAAAPM denounces attempts to criminalize or impose civil penalties on physicians who assist patients in making reproductive health decisions. Physicians should not be placed at risk for prosecution for using knowledge based on scientific evidence to provide patient-centered care.
Almost ten years ago (Dec 14, 2012), at Sandy Hook Elementary school, the nation witnessed one of the deadliest mass shootings in US history utilizing a semi-automatic rifle. This past couple of weeks, we as educators witnessed the death of two colleagues and the death of 19 children in Uvalde, TX, and the death of two physicians and members of their team in Tulsa, OK. As diversity officers, on May 14, 2022, we witnessed the loss of ten people in what authorities described as “racially motivated violent extremism” in Buffalo, NY (Associated Press, May 14, 2022).
The Coalition for Physician Accountability (CoPA) previously recommended virtual interviews in the 2021-2022 residency recruitment cycle. While this recommendation was beneficial due to the COVID pandemic, the purpose of the recommendation was actually to support equity. Virtual interviews decrease costs to programs and applicants and decrease time away from important medical school rotations during the recruitment season. The CoPA recommendations for virtual interviews have not changed. The AAMC and NRMP have recently provided additional guidance in support of virtual interviews.
