Multiple mini-interview consistency and satisfactoriness for residency program recruitment: Oman evidence

Objectives: Standard interviews are used by most residency programs to assess non-cognitive skills, but variability in the interviewer’s skills, interviewer bias, and context specificity limit reliability. We sought to investigate the consistency and satisfactoriness of the multiple mini-interview (MMI) model for resident selection into an otorhinolaryngology head and neck surgery residency program. Methods: This pilot study was done in an independent academic residency training center for 15 applicants, in seven eight-minute MMI stations with eight raters for the 2015–2016 academic year. The raters included the chief resident and education committee chairman in one of the stations. Candidates were assessed on two items: medical knowledge (two standardized case scenarios) and behavioral knowledge (personality and attitude, professionalism, communication, enthusiasm to the specialty, and English proficiency). Results: Of 15 candidates, 10 (66.7%) were female and five (33.3%) were male; five were recommended for selection, and five were kept on the waiting list. The reliability, intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC), of the scores obtained from seven items of MMI was 0.36 (95% confidence interval (CI):-0.31–0.75; p = 0.110). However, the ICC of the medical interview was 0.54 (95% CI: 0.45–0.84; p = 0.090). The correlation between behavioral items score and MMI total score was r = 0.135 (p = 0.150). Conclusions: The interview evaluation/survey form given to candidates and interviewers has shown that MMI is a fair and effective tool to evaluate non-cognitive traits. Both candidates and interviewers prefer MMI to standard interviews. The MMI process for residency interviews can generate reliable interview results using only seven stations and is acceptable and preferred over standard interview modalities by residency program applicants and faculty members.