PGY-4 Cleveland Clinic Foundation Cleveland, Ohio, United States
Case Diagnosis: Navigating the annual residency program interview season and more importantly the applicant pool is a challenging task for all residency programs. Currently, there are no studies to guide physiatric residency programs with a systematic and holistic approach to the process.
Case Description: Our program devised a scoring scale to standardize the assessment and hierarchization of residency applicants based on both subjective and objective factors identified in the ERAS application. The scales were developed through a review of relevant literature to identify factors that can potentially predict success in residency. Given the unique nature of PM&R, which requires non-procedural and procedural skills, the scoring system combines predictors from both non-surgical and surgical specialties. These have been weighted accordingly. The unique skillset and knowledge base required for a career in PM&R factored into the overall scoring system. The evaluation consists of four 1-4 rating scales for subjective criteria and five binary differentiators for objective criteria.
Discussions: While no specific studies have been conducted for PM&R, studies in other medical and surgical specialties have examined applicant data and compared these to ACGME milestone data, chief resident elections, and other measures of effective residency performance to identify patterns.
We embarked on this scale to identify applicants who reflect the Cleveland Clinic’s intrinsic culture, rooted in servant leadership and "humbitious" traits. The enterprise’s core values of quality, service, teamwork and innovation are considered a hallmark of the screening tool that could readily be adapted by programs.
Conclusions: We devised a systematic approach based on subjective and objective data extracted from an applicant's profile to effectively screen and select applicants that align with our program's values and core mission.
With the emphasis being placed on the holistic review of a candidate, this approach includes a comprehensive and quantitative method that could be utilized by physiatric residency programs.
