Abstract No. 140 Impact of program director panel on medical student confidence in the NRMP during the COVID-19 pandemic

Purpose: Though efforts to curtail the spread of COVID-19 have flattened the curve, it has had a deleterious impact on not only medical education, but also the residency application process New limitations have severely restricted applicants The purpose of this study was to assess the impact that a webinar with residency program directors had on medical student applicants’ confidence in applying to interventional radiology residency programs during the COVID-19 Pandemic Materials and Methods: Medical students were invited to attend a virtual webinar with multiple residency program directors to discuss the application process Of the 95 survey responders, the percentages of MD, DO, and IMG candidates were 69 5%, 21 0%, and 9 5%, respectively Furthermore, 58 9% were expected to graduate in 2021, 21 1% in 2022, and 17 9% in 2023;2 1% graduated in 2020 Prior to and directly after the webinar discussion, attendees were asked to fill out a survey evaluating their aplomb in and knowledge of the application process A Likert scale was used to measure responses to each statement Comparative analyses were accomplished via two-sample t tests Results: The data was stratified between applicants who were expected to apply in 2021 and those who plan on applying in ensuing years The Likert scale was organized such that each response was assigned a number between one and four: one for “strongly disagree” and four for “strongly agree ” Statistical analysis revealed significant differences in all survey results (α < 0 05) Comparing pre- and post-webinar responses, applicants had a significantly improved conception of what they must do both prior to and during the application process (P < 0 01) Furthermore, applicants reported a significantly greater degree of confidence in the NRMP (P < 0 01) Conclusions: In this study, it was found that the virtual webinar did have a significant positive impact on applicants’ assurance in and understanding of the NRMP Furthermore, fears concerning new limitations imposed upon applicants – such as not being able to pursue away rotations – were also alleviated Interventional radiology is one of the most competitive specialties, with the highest applicant to available position ratio of 4 53 and the 7th highest average USMLE Step 1 score Thus, the dissemination of appropriate information to applicants is integral to their success Overall, this analysis suggests that virtual webinars and program director communication are a powerful tool that can promote applicants’ confidence in and knowledge of the NRMP in the face of the COVID-19 Pandemic and its concomitant challenges