Student Expenses in Residency Interviewing

Abstract

Introduction. The student costs of residency interviewing are
of increasing concern but limited current information is available.
Updated, more detailed information would assist students
and residency programs in decisions about residency selection.
The study objective was to measure the expenses and time spent
in residency interviewing by the 2016 graduating class of the University
of Kansas School of Medicine and assess the impact of
gender, regional campus location, and primary care application.

Methods. All 195 students who participated in the 2016 National
Residency Matching Program (NRMP) received a 33 item questionnaire
addressing interviewing activity, expenses incurred, time
invested and related factors. Main measures were self-reported estimates
of expenses and time spent interviewing. Descriptive analyses
were applied to participant characteristics and responses. Multivariate
analysis of variance (MANOVA) and chi-square tests compared
students by gender, campus (main/regional), and primary care/
other specialties. Analyses of variance (ANOVA) on the dependent
variables provided follow-up tests on significant MANOVA results.

Results. A total of 163 students (84%) completed the survey. The
average student reported 38 (1 - 124) applications, 16 (1 - 54) invitations,
11 (1 - 28) completed interviews, and spent $3,500
($20 - $12,000) and 26 (1 - 90) days interviewing. No significant
differences were found by gender. After MANOVA and ANOVA
analyses, non-primary care applicants reported significantly
more applications, interviews, and expenditures, but
less program financial support. Regional campus students reported
significantly fewer invitations, interviews, and days
interviewing, but equivalent costs when controlled for primary
care application. Cost was a limiting factor in accepting
interviews for 63% and time for 53% of study respondents.

Conclusions. Students reported investing significant time and
money in interviewing. After controlling for other variables, primary
care was associated with significantly lowered expenses.
Regional campus location was associated with fewer interviews
and less time interviewing. Gender had no significant
impact on any aspect studied. KS J Med 2017;10(3):50-54.