Original Article

What Attributes are Necessary to Be Selected for an Orthopaedic Surgery Residency Position: Perceptions of Faculty and Residents

Authors: Gurpreet Bajaj, MD, Kelly D. Carmichael, MD

Abstract

Orthopaedic surgery has an extremely competitive residency selection process. The authors discuss which attributes of an orthopaedic surgery residency applicant are the most important in obtaining a position. A comparison of applicants' opinions to those of faculty was also done. Anonymous questionnaires were filled out by orthopaedic surgery residency applicants and faculty orthopaedists at teaching institutions. The most important attributes to obtaining a residency were performance on a local rotation (externship), class rank, and interview performance according to faculty. Applicants thought performance on local rotation, United States Medical Licensing Examination Step 1 scores, and letters of recommendation were the three most important. Both groups ranked research participation, gender, and race as the three least important attributes.


Key Points


* Competition is stiff among candidates for residency positions in orthopaedic surgery.


* Faculty believe performance during externship, class rank, and interview performance are the three most important factors in applicant selection.


* Applicants believe performance during externship, United States Medical Licensing Examination Step I score, and letters of recommendation were the three most important factors.


* Both applicants and faculty rated research, gender, and race as being of least importance.

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