A Survey of Post-Graduate Satisfaction With Orthopaedic Residency Training at a Single Institution

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Orthopaedic Surgery
• Graduate Medical Training

Background:

• The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) mandates self-study for residency programs.
• Post-graduate surveys offer alumni a chance to reflect on residency training.
• A standardized assessment for orthopaedic residency training from alumni perspectives is currently lacking.

Purpose of the Study:

• To create, analyze, and disseminate a post-graduate survey for orthopaedic alumni.
• To assess residency training based on ACGME core competencies.
• To identify areas for program improvement and self-study.

Main Methods:

• A survey was developed by orthopaedic faculty and a survey methodologist.
• The survey was emailed to 90 orthopaedic graduates (2000-2019) in May 2020.
• Responses were collected on clinical practice and satisfaction using a 7-point Likert scale and open-ended questions, analyzed across three cohorts.

Main Results:

• A 71% response rate was achieved (64/90).
• Recent graduates reported lower satisfaction with program initiatives and overall training.
• While ACGME competency skills received favorable reviews, professional development skills were rated poorly.

Conclusions:

• The post-graduate survey highlights program strengths and weaknesses, particularly dissatisfaction among recent graduates.
• Findings will guide specific curricular modifications within the orthopaedic program.
• The survey will be shared to encourage self-study in other residency programs.