A recruitment model for selecting residents

The process of selecting residents is an important issue in medical training. In an attempt to quantify and thereby objectify this process, a model for selection was developed. The model, using scaled scores reflective of each of the applicants' characteristics, was used to rank applicants in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at the Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee. Data derived from the selection process were analyzed over a three-year period, 1986-1989. Statistical analysis of the data showed that as few as three experienced faculty members were needed to interview reliably. The statistically significant correlation (p less than .01) between those who interviewed and those who did not interview was necessarily influenced by the fact that those who did not interview had access to the narrative descriptors of those who did. These findings suggest that the use of this recruitment model would permit a more cost-effective approach to the selection of residents.