The AAMC's Standardized Video Interview is entering another year of piloting within emergency medicine. If you're planning to match, you need to understand and prepare for the SVI.
What is the Standardized Video Interview, or SVI?
Created and managed by the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), the SVI is an online, video-based interview. The SVI was created to assess medical students’ aptitude and competence in two qualities that the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) requires in future residents: Interpersonal and Communication Skills and Knowledge of Professional Behavior. Currently, the SVI is required for all EM residency applicants.
The goal of the SVI is to assign an objective numerical score to each student that will allow residency programs to further differentiate between applications. In the SVI, applicants are provided with 6 questions via text and given 30 seconds to read a question and 3 minutes to respond. Afterward, a rater scores an applicant’s answers based on the identified ACGME competencies. Programs can then view the resulting scores, along with the videos.
Preparing for SVI
It is highly recommended to prepare for the SVI. According to EMRA’s data on preparation strategy, students who did not prepare for the SVI scored significantly lower than students who had prepared. However, there were no practical differences in SVI scores when compared across preparation strategies.
There are a variety of resources for preparing for the SVI. We recommend the following:
- Read the AAMC’s Tips for Applicants.
- Complete at least one practice question in advance with either a medical school advisor or a classmate.
- Watch the EMRA Hangout session, “SVI and ERAS”
- Consider attending (or hosting) an SVI prep session with your EMIG/school.
Undergoing the SVI
Feel free to take the SVI at a location of your choice. However, it is worth noting that programs will have access to this video, so it may behoove you to find a quiet area with no distracting features.
As noted, you can expect 6 questions, each taken from a large question bank, with 30 seconds to read each question and 3 minutes to respond. Ensure that you have a good internet connection, because you will only be allowed to respond once per question.
If you have any questions or feedback regarding the SVI, please feel free to contact the EMRA Medical Student Council at any time.
Other resources for SVI preparation (from the AAMC) include:
- SVI Essentials for the ERAS 2019 Season, the official policy and procedure guide for the Standardized Video Interview
- AAMC Standardized Video Interview: Applicant Preparation Guide, a guide with details on the format of the SVI, sample questions, and tips for applicant preparation;
- Sample SVI Questions, a set of example SVI questions for each of the two competencies assessed by the SVI; and
- SVI Practice Interviews, two interviews, each including 6 questions for completion in the same video interviewing environment as the actual SVI