Perceptions of national recruitment for orthodontic specialty registrars: 2012-2014.

Aim: To assess the changes in interviewees' and interviewers' perceptions and experiences of national recruitment and a multi-station interview (MSI) for the selection of Orthodontic Specialty Registrars to UK training programmes from 2012 to 2014.

Design: Questionnaire-based longitudinal survey.

Setting: Interviews for selection of Orthodontic Specialty Registrars (StRs) held at London Deanery, London, UK.

Methods: Interviewees and interviewers completed an anonymous questionnaire comprising of 17 and 26 questions, respectively.

Results: Interviewees: The number, age (p = 0.29) and time since qualification (p = 0.90) increased slightly over the 3 years but these changes were not statistically significant. The proportion of females (p = 0.32) and those with a UK primary dental qualification (p = 0.52) varied slightly but the variation was not statistically significant. The proportion that had experience of the MSI format increased significantly over the 3 years (p < 0.01). More than 75% were positive about the organization, experience and fairness of the MSI interview format. Interviewers: The age (p = 0.54), time since being a consultant (p = 0.90), proportion of females (p = 0.43) and those favouring the MSI format (p = 0.29) varied slightly but this was not statistically significant. More than 75% were positive about the organization, experience and fairness of the MSI format. More than 90% of interviewers thought that the process selected the best candidates, was fair and that more than one assessor was required at each station.

Conclusions: Interviewees were consistently very positive about the organization and fairness of the MSI format. Interviewers were consistently very positive about the selection of candidates, fairness and conduct of the MSIs.