What Makes a Great Resident: A Perspective of Pediatric Dentistry Program Directors and Residents

To obtain information regarding attitudes and perspectives of pediatric dentistry residency program directors (PD) and pediatric dentistry residents (PDR) about what makes a great resident.

Surveys for PDs (36 questions), and PDRs (31 questions) were created and emailed via SurveyMonkey® to the 88 PDs and 906 residents of United States programs in 2015. Desirable characteristics identified during selection and attendance in the residency program were compared.

Forty-seven percent of the PDs (n equals 41) and 24 percent of the residents (n equals 221) responded to the survey. Both groups rated honesty to be of highest value during the selection process of applicants. During the residency, PDs still ranked honesty highest, whereas residents ranked teamwork highest. PDs (71 percent) would consider a standardized admissions test as part of their admission requirements. Twenty-three percent of PDs and 58 percent of residents believed social media would influence admission decisions.

The viewpoints of directors and residents showed similarities during the selection process but significant differences in ranking personal attributes during training, with residents valuing teamwork more than program directors. Program directors want a standardized test for the admissions process. Additionally, residents ranked social media higher for admission decisions than program directors.