Matriculating student perceptions of changes to the admissions interview process at the University of Wisconsin Medical School: a prospective, controlled comparison.
OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this study was to assess whether changes in the admissions interview process improved matriculating students' perceptions of the quality of the admissions interview process.


METHODS
We surveyed matriculating medical students for a 3-year period. Over this period, the admissions process and procedures went through a review and then a re-engineering. The survey provided 1 year of baseline data (while the review was undertaken), 1 year of data as recommendations from the review were progressively implemented, and 1 year of data on full implementation of recommendations.


RESULTS
From baseline to full implementation, there were statistically significant increases (p < .05) in the percentage of matriculating students who found the University of Wisconsin (UW) Medical School interview process useful (31% increase), thorough (50% increase) and better than that of other medical schools (28% increase). There was also a statistically significant decrease in the percentage of matriculating students who found the UW Medical School interview process to be less impressive than other schools (29% decrease) and in need of improvement (45% decrease). EDUCATIONAL SIGNIFICANCE/CONCLUSIONS: Changes made in the UW Medical School's interview process yielded significant increases in perceptions of the quality of the experience by matriculating students. Since interviewing is expensive for both the institution and the applicant, it should have a clear purpose. The manner in which interviews are conducted should be critically reviewed periodically to ensure that the interview continues to meet its intended needs.
Albanese
Mark A
MA
Office of Medical Education Research and Development, University of Wisconsin Medical School, Madison, Wis., USA.
Snow
Mikel
M
Skochelak
Susan
S
Huggett
Kathryn
K
Farrell
Philip M
PM
D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D012570:School Admission Criteria; D012577:Schools, Medical / Q000458:organization & administration*; D013337:Students, Medical; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014922:Wisconsin