Changing recruitment outcomes: the 'why' and the 'how'

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Graduate Medical Education
• Residency Recruitment

Background:

• Residency programs face intense competition for applicants and significant resource allocation for recruitment.
• This program experienced 5 consecutive years of unfilled positions from 1999 to 2004, necessitating a review of its recruitment strategy.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe the experience of a single residency program in enhancing its recruitment process and improving match outcomes.
• To evaluate the impact of specific changes implemented in the recruitment strategy on program fill rates and applicant qualifications.

Main Methods:

• A new training director surveyed peer program directors and analyzed medical student feedback.
• Previous recruitment processes were evaluated to develop and implement a revised recruitment plan.
• Outcome measures, including United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) scores, Comprehensive Osteopathic Medical Licensing Examination (COMLEX) scores, match results, and the ratio of American graduates (AG) to International Medical Graduates (IMG), were tracked.

Main Results:

• Following the implementation of the new recruitment process in 2004-2005, the program has successfully filled all six positions annually.
• Average median COMLEX Level 1 and Level 2 scores demonstrated a statistically significant increase from 35.0 to 77.5 (p<0.012).
• The AG/IMG ratio shifted favorably from 7/16 in 1999 to 19/5 during the 2006-2009 period.

Conclusions:

• Strategic modifications to the residency program recruitment process can lead to improved match outcomes.
• The study demonstrates that a systematic approach to recruitment can enhance the quality and fill rate of residency positions.