Evaluating resident candidates: does closed file review impact faculty ratings?

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Surgical Training
• Psychology of Evaluation

Background:

• Faculty evaluations are crucial in resident selection.
• Understanding biases in candidate assessment is essential for fair selection processes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate how faculty perceive resident candidates under different information conditions.
• To analyze the impact of pre-interview knowledge on candidate evaluations.

Main Methods:

• Surgical faculty interviewed 70 resident candidates.
• Evaluations were conducted twice: before and after reviewing candidate files (Electronic Residency Application Service).

Main Results:

• Significant interactions were found between file status, candidate familiarity, and specific attributes.
• Initially, familiar candidates received higher ratings.
• After file review, unfamiliar candidates were rated as equally or more qualified than familiar candidates.

Conclusions:

• Faculty ratings of resident candidates are influenced by whether candidate files are known prior to the interview.
• The 'open file' condition mitigates initial biases favoring familiar candidates.