Characterization of the CORD Standardized Letter of Recommendation in 2011 to 2012

Love, Jeffrey J.; Ronan, Sarah; Deiorio, Nicole M.; Howell, J. B.; Doty, Carol N.; Lane, Daniel; Hegarty, Cullen

doi:10.1016/j.annemergmed.2013.06.030

Cited by 6 publications

(9 citation statements)

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“…5,11 A recurrent theme throughout in the first SLOR Task Force study was that grade inflation is the primary limitation of the SLOR. 18 This study further reinforces this concern, as the lack of meaningful comparisons to other applicants was rated as the single greatest factor in diminishing the value of the SLOR (Table 2). Traditionally, the SLOR has ranked candidates relative to peers by providing an adjective (e.g., outstanding, excellent, very good, good) linked with a quantifying anchor (e.g., top 10%, top 1/3, middle 1/3, and lower 1/3) to limit variability in interpretation.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 61%

“…10,12,17,22 Perhaps this is related to the finding by several studies showing that program leadership (i.e., PDs and clerkship directors) tend to be the most discriminating SLOR authors. 17,18 Conversely, PDs in this study reported that "inexperienced letter writers" were a commonly reported factor diminishing the value of a SLOR. The group SLOR is preferred, and it is the format to which PDs most often contribute.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 60%

“…18 Efforts to minimize both these issues would appear to increase the value of the SLOR to the PDs in their decision-making regarding the most appropriate candidates for their programs. Another advantage of an electronic format for SLOR completion is that it could be designed to ensure that all questions are answered, template customization does not take place, and written comments are limited to the suggested length.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The authors concluded that of the three basic tenets on which the SLOR was developed (e.g., concise, standardized, and discriminating) all had limitations based on how this instrument was used. 18 None was more significant than grade inflation, which diminished the ability of this instrument to discriminate among candidates. Furthermore, the authors argued that the SLOR is more appropriately considered a summative evaluation and that the label "recommendation" in the name may contribute to inflation.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Council of Emergency Medicine Residency Directors' Standardized Letter of Recommendation: The Program Director's Perspective

Love

Smith

Weizberg

et al. 2014

Academic Emergency Medicine

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Objectives: The standardized letter of evaluation (SLOE) was created in 1997 to provide residency program directors (PDs) with a summative evaluation that incorporates normative grading (i.e., comparisons to peers applying to emergency medicine [EM] training). Although the standard letter of recommendation (SLOR) has become increasingly popular and important in decision-making, it has not been studied in the past 12 years. To assess the SLOR's effectiveness and limitations, the perspective of EM PDs was surveyed in this study.Methods: After validation of the questionnaire by 10 retired PDs, the survey was sent to the PD of each of the 159 EM residencies that existed at that time. The survey was circulated via the Council of Emergency Medicine Residency Directors' (CORD) listserv from January 24, 2013, to February 13, 2013. Weekly e-mail reminders to all PDs served to increase participation.Results: A total of 150 of 159 PDs (94.3%) completed the questionnaire. Nearly all respondents (149 of 150; 99.3%) agreed that the SLOR is an important evaluative tool and should continue to be used. In the application process, 91 of 150 (60.7%) programs require one or more SLORs, and an additional 55 (36.7%) recommend but do not require a SLOR to be considered for interview. When asked to identify the top three factors in deciding who should be interviewed, the SLOR was ranked first (139 of 150; 92.7%), with EM rotation grades ranked second (73 of 150; 48.7%). The factors that were most often identified as the top three that diminish the value of the SLOR in order were 1) "inflated evaluations" (121 of 146; 82.9%), 2) "inconsistency between comments and grades" (106 of 146; 72.6%), and 3) "inadequate perspective on candidate attributes in the written comments" and "inexperienced authors" (60 of 146; 41.1% each). Conclusions:The SLOR appears to be the most important tool in the EM PD's armamentarium for determining which candidates should be interviewed for residency training. Although valuable, the SLOR's potential utility is hampered by a number of factors, the most important of which is inflated evaluations. Focused changes in the SLOR template should be mindful that it appears, in general, to be successful in its intended purpose.ACADEMIC EMERGENCY MEDICINE 2014;21:680-687 © 2014 by the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine P rior studies have shown that traditional narrative letters of recommendation (NLOR) suffer from a number of significant limitations. Such letters do not predict future performance.1,2 They often repeat cognitive merits of the applicant and do not specifically address noncognitive domains that may be more predictive of performance as a resident. 2,3 The information that is provided is not comparative and is often

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 61%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 60%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Council of Emergency Medicine Residency Directors' Standardized Letter of Recommendation: The Program Director's Perspective

Love

Smith

Weizberg

et al. 2014

Academic Emergency Medicine

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…2013;62:S145 (Research Forum abstracts) Factors associated with short-term bounce-back admissions after emergency department discharge (Gabayan et al). 2013;62:136-144 A population-wide study of pediatric access to trauma centers in California, 2005-2011. 2013;62:S67 (Research Forum abstracts) Psychiatric-associated visits to California emergency departments: presence of licensed psychiatric beds and admission (Brennan et al).…”

Section: Blood Transfusionmentioning

confidence: 99%