Problematic communications during 2016 fellowship recruitment in internal medicine

• Main Authors: Patricia A. Cornett, Chris Williams, Richard L. Alweis, John McConville, Michael Frank, Bhavin Dalal, Richard I. Kopelman, Vera P. Luther, Alec B. O’connor, Elaine A. Muchmore
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Taylor & Francis Group 2017-10-01
• Series: Journal of Community Hospital Internal Medicine Perspectives
• Subjects: Fellowship; match; communications; internal medicine residents​; NRMP
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/20009666.2017.1381546

Some internal medicine residency program directors have expressed concerns that their third-year residents may have been subjected to inappropriate communication during the 2016 fellowship recruitment season. The authors sought to study applicants’ interpersonal communication experiences with fellowship programs. Many respondents indicated that they had been asked questions that would constitute violations of the National Residency Matching Program (NRMP) Communications Code of Conduct agreement, including how they plan to rank specific programs. Moreover, female respondents were more likely to have been asked questions during interview experiences about other programs to which they applied, and about their family plans. Post-interview communication policies were not made clear to most applicants. These results suggest ongoing challenges for the internal medicine community to improve communication with applicants and uniform compliance with the NRMP communications code of conduct during the fellowship recruitment process.