ABSTRACT

Background

Although the resident candidate interview is costly and time-consuming for both applicants and programs, it is considered critically important for resident selection. Noncognitive attributes, including communication skills and professionalism, can be assessed by the personal interview.

Objective

We conducted a review of the literature on the residency interview to identify the interview characteristics used for resident selection and to ascertain to what extent the interview yields information that predicts future performance.

Methods

We searched PubMed and Scopus using the following search terms: residency, internship, interview, selection, and performance. We extracted information on characteristics of the interview process, including type of interview format, measures taken to minimize bias by interviewers, and testing of other clinical/surgical skills.

Results

We identified 104 studies that pertained to the resident selection interview, with highly varied interview formats and assessment tools. A positive correlation was demonstrated between a medical school academic record and the interview, especially for unblinded interview formats. A total of 34 studies attempted to correlate interview score with performance in residency, with mixed results. We also identified a number of studies that included personality testing, clinical skills testing, or surgical skills testing.

Conclusions

Our review identified a wide variety of approaches to the selection interview and a range of factors that have been studied to assess its effectiveness. More research needs to be done not only to address and ascertain appropriate interview formats that predict positive performance in residency, but also to determine interview factors that can predict both residents' “success” and program attrition.

ABSTRACT

Background

Historically, trainees in undergraduate and graduate health professions education have relied on secondary resources, such as textbooks and lectures, for core learning activities. Recently, blogs and podcasts have entered into mainstream usage, especially for residents and educators. These low-cost, widely available resources have many characteristics of disruptive innovations and, if they continue to improve in quality, have the potential to reinvigorate health professions education. One potential limitation of further growth in the use of these resources is the lack of information on their quality and effectiveness.

Objective

To identify quality indicators for secondary resources that are described in the literature, which might be applicable to blogs and podcasts.

Methods

Using a blended research methodology, we performed a systematic literature review using Google Scholar, MEDLINE, Embase, Web of Science, and ERIC to identify quality indicators for secondary resources. A qualitative analysis of these indicators resulted in the organization of this information into themes and subthemes. Expert focus groups were convened to triangulate these findings and ensure that no relevant quality indicators were missed.

Results

The literature search identified 4530 abstracts, and quality indicators were extracted from 157 articles. The qualitative analysis produced 3 themes (credibility, content, and design), 13 subthemes, and 151 quality indicators.

Conclusions

The list of quality indicators resulting from our analysis can be used by stakeholders, including learners, educators, academic leaders, and blog/podcast producers. Further studies are being conducted, which will refine the list into a form that is more structured and stratified for use by these stakeholders.

ABSTRACT

Background

The Psychiatry Resident-In-Training Examination (PRITE) is a standardized examination that measures residents' educational progress during residency training. It also serves as a moderate-to-strong predictor of later performance on the board certification examination.

Objective

This study evaluated the effectiveness of an accountability program used by a public psychiatric hospital to increase its residents' PRITE scores.

Methods

A series of consequences and incentives were developed based on levels of PRITE performance. Poor performance resulted in consequences, including additional academic assignments. Higher performance led to residents earning external moonlighting privileges. Standardized PRITE scores for all residents (N = 67) over a 10-year period were collected and analyzed. The PRITE examination consists of 2 subscales—psychiatry and neurology. Change in the overall level of PRITE scores following the implementation of the accountability program was estimated using a discontinuous growth curve model for each subscale.

Results

Standardized scores on the psychiatry subscale were 51.09 points, approximately 0.50 SD change, which was higher after the accountability program was implemented. Standardized scores on the neurology subscale did not change.

Conclusions

An accountability program that assigns consequences based on examination performance may be moderately successful in improving scores on the psychiatry subscale scores of the PRITE. This likely has longer-term benefits for residents due to the relationship between PRITE and board certification examination performance.

Introduction: Growing evidence supports the use of social media in medical education. One benefit is individual customization of the learning environment. Few investigators, however, have examined the stylistic characteristics of Free Open Access Medical Education (FOAMed) resources.

Objective: We investigated the ideal reading level of FOAMed blog posts.

Methods: We collected posts from the BoringEM.org blog, a multiauthor, peer-reviewed emergency medicine FOAMed blog. Posts are created by students, residents, and physicians; the resulting text varies in literary ease. We used Wordpress Page to extract the Flesch Reading Ease Score (FRES), a measure of literary difficulty. We used

Introduction: Multisource feedback involves the collection of feedback from multiple groups of assessors, including those who do not traditionally have a hierarchal responsibility to evaluate physicians. Theoretically, the feedback collectively provides a thorough view of physician performance in daily practice in the humanistic and relational competencies. This study explored perceptions of multisource feedback and prerequisites to an effective multisource feedback program in postgraduate medical education from the perspectives of both pediatrics residents and allied health care professionals.

Methods: This exploratory case study utilized a pediatrics inpatient unit where multisource feedback has not yet been implemented. Three focus groups