Evaluation of a Virtual Sub-internship Experience for Senior Medical Students Applying to Otolaryngology During the COVID-19 Pandemic

BackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic limited in-person medical experiences for senior medical students. To address the lack of visiting sub-internships, we created a one-day virtual overview of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, incorporating discussion of important trainee topics and an introduction to our residency program.MethodsA one-day virtual event was hosted by a tertiary academic medical center. Sessions were structured as interviews with faculty and residents, with real-time question and answer sessions. A guide with presenter information and resident-curated resources for each sub-specialty was given, as well as a document of frequently asked questions. The event was advertised to senior medical students through online forums. Data were collected via registration and post-event anonymous surveys. ResultsThere were 327 participants representing 138 institutions, 34 states and territories, and 10 countries, with 90% of participants consisting of senior medical students. The event spanned 5 content hours, and participants were signed in for 4.1 hours on average. Participants (n = 102, 31% response rate) found the event helpful for learning about the field (96%), residency program (97%), and specialty-specific resources (86%). Hearing from residents (43%) and faculty (41%) were cited as the most helpful parts of the program. Getting to know residency programs remotely (28%), participating in virtual interviews (26%), and not having away rotations (20%) were most often noted as the biggest student concerns for the 2020–2021 application cycle. Finally, participants identified getting to know an institution’s culture (76%) as the most difficult aspect of a program to evaluate remotely.ConclusionsWe demonstrate that a virtual event can be valuable in the transition to residency by supplementing or partially substituting visiting sub-internships.