The Impact of the Covid-19 Pandemic on Applicants to Advanced Education in Pediatric Dentistry Programs and Recommendations for Virtual Interviews

Purpose: To assess the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on applicants for advanced education programs in pediatric dentistry in the United States and provide recom-mendations for virtual interviews (VI). Methods: A cross-sectional survey was emailed to pediatric dentistry applicants in the 2020-2021 cycle. Results: One hundred seventy-five applicants responded. Virtual interviews were the universal format during this timeframe. Forty-four percent admitted to applying to programs they were not initially strongly considering and 42 percent accepted inter-views they would have declined if they had to travel. Applicants found social events with residents only (80 percent), a program overview presentation (86 percent), a virtual tour (77 percent) and a question-and-answer session with residents (85 percent) to be helpful. One-on-one or paired faculty interviews were the most preferred inter-view method. More than half (55 percent) thought programs were not able to learn about them as effectively through virtual compared to an in-person format. Conclusions: VI caused different applicant behavior due to the low time and financial investment. Applicants valued their time with residents to learn about programs, but were split in their preferences for virtual, in-person or hybrid interviews. Programs can use findings from this study to plan future recruitment cycles.