Novel Strategies to Improve Resident Selection by Improving Cultural Fit

Abstract

Residency selection is a perennial multifactorial process that differs considerably from the recruitment processes that other professional occupations enjoy. The 2016 meeting of the American Orthopaedic Association's Council of Orthopaedic Residency Directors highlighted a series of symposia that sought to present a novel manner of resident selection. Specifically, the presenters for each symposium were asked to do the following: present some general recruitment best practices in industries outside of medicine, present how branding of a program may translate into a better interview season, investigate evidence that the applicant pool to orthopaedic surgery may have changed and that residency program brands may have to reflect this, and assess our current evaluation techniques for talent identification and resident selection with respect to a specific department's appearance or brand. The meeting concluded with an understanding of the level to which programs can successfully create or adopt a brand and how this may go a long way in focusing the entire match process and allow emphasis to be placed on applicants who possess desired traits. The goal for this meeting was that attendees would leave with tangible practices and techniques that could be adopted at their home institutions.

Systems-Level Reforms to the US Resident Selection Process: A Scoping Review

“…40 Signaling Program Preference: Eleven articles promoted supplemental applications to express program preference, including a program-specific paragraph in the personal statement, written or video statements of interest, or secondary applications. 4,18,[26][27][28]40,41,[46][47][48][49] This proposal frequently co-occurred with application caps (n ¼ 7) as a mechanism for reducing application volume through their time-intensive nature. 24,50,51 However, requiring applicants to submit these materials results in an increase in resources needed for application review.…”

“…Additionally, 6 articles suggested residency programs establish a ''brand'' (language used in the articles) that conveys the culture, desired attributes of residents, and ideal career path for graduates, thereby informing applicants of the type of candidate likely to thrive in that culture. 13,17,33,48,63,64 This reform may enhance the compatibility between applicants and programs, improving resident satisfaction, and decreasing residents leaving the program. 64…”

“…11,13,17,27,31,48,60,90,[96][97][98][99][100][101][102][103][104][105][106][107] Despite their interpretability, comparability, and objectivity, SLORs/ SLOEs may be undermined by grade inflation. 27,48,90,99,101,104 Consequently, 3 articles proposed the creation of nationally normed SLOR rubrics and a database comparing letter writer and program performance to national standards to curtail inflation. 27,90,106 Similarly, one article advocated for published letter writer guidelines detailing the preparation of SLORs/SLOEs, particularly the assignment of appropriate grading or ranking.…”

Piloting a Tool for Assessment of Person-organization Fit for Residency Applicants: Lessons from Organizational Psychology

“…As applicants attend more interviews, the process of evaluating and ranking programs becomes more intimidating. While numerous studies propose better methods for programs to evaluate candidates, there are few reciprocal tools for helping candidates evaluate programs (Bowe et al 2017;Porter et al 2017). Matching applicants who are satisfied with their outcome is in the best interest of programs and hospitals, as physician satisfaction correlates with quality of care (Wallace et al 2009).…”

Branding and Recruitment: A Primer for Residency Program Leadership

“…In some specialties, students' self-assessment of programspecific fit is included in personal statements. 1 Without deliberate thought and action on behalf of program leadership, applicants may miss (or misinterpret) important features of a program, resulting in a less precise judgment of fit. Branding, a construct for describing and developing mental associations that influence behavior, 2 may be used by programs to clearly define and effectively communicate their unique features and identity to applicants.…”