What Predicts Performance? A Multicenter Study Examining the Association Between Resident Performance, Rank List...

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Emergency Medicine Residency

Background:

• Emergency medicine (EM) residency programs strive to identify successful applicants.
• Programs utilize Rank Order Lists (ROL) to rank candidates.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine if ROL position, prior medical student rotation, or USMLE Step 1 rank predicts residency performance.
• To identify key predictors for successful EM residents.

Main Methods:

• Anonymous surveys of EM faculty at four institutions evaluated residents from 2013-2014 classes.
• Spearman's rho compared graduation ROL with program-adjusted ROL and USMLE Step 1 rank.
• Analysis included whether residents completed a medical student rotation at the program.

Main Results:

• Graduation ROL did not correlate with adjusted ROL or USMLE Step 1 rank.
• For residents who completed a sub-internship, adjusted ROL significantly correlated with final graduation ranking.
• 93 residents were evaluated in total.

Conclusions:

• USMLE Step 1 rank and adjusted ROL position did not predict overall resident performance.
• Adjusted ROL position predicted success for residents who completed a sub-internship at the program.
• Findings may inform future EM resident selection processes.