Developing a customized multiple interview for dental school admissions.
From the early 1980s until recently, the University of British Columbia Faculty of Dentistry had employed the Canadian Dental Association (CDA) Structured Interview in its Phase 2 admissions process (with those applicants invited for interviews). While this structured interview had demonstrated reliability and validity, the Faculty of Dentistry came to believe that a multiple interview process using scenarios would help it better identify applicants who would match its mission. After a literature review that investigated such interview protocols as unstructured, semi-structured, computerized, and telephone formats, a multiple interview format was chosen. This format was seen as an emerging trend, with evidence that it has been deemed fairer by applicants, more reliable by interviewers, more difficult for applicants to provide set answers for the scenarios, and not to require as many interviewers as other formats. This article describes the process undertaken to implement a customized multiple interview format for admissions and reports these outcomes of the process: a smoothly running multiple interview; effective training protocols for staff, interviewers, and applicants; and reports from successful applicants and interviewers that they felt the multiple interview was a more reliable and fairer recruiting tool than other models.
Faculty of Dentistry, University of British Columbia, 254 2199 Wesbrook Mall, Vancouver, British Columbia, V6T 1Z3 Canada; kgardner@dentistry.ubc.ca.
Karen M
KM
Gardner
D000288:Administrative Personnel / Q000193:education; D001955:British Columbia; D004521:Educational Measurement; D005179:Faculty, Dental; D005246:Feedback; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D010560:Personnel Selection; D016730:Program Development / Q000379:methods*; D015397:Program Evaluation; D012570:School Admission Criteria; D012575:Schools, Dental
dental education; dental school admissions; dental schools; multiple interviews