title: General surgery residency interviews: are we following best practices?
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The interview is one of the most important factors in selecting candidates for general surgery residency. There is significant research on best practices for conducting interviews. Blinded interviews and standardized questions improve interview utility and accuracy; however, their utilization in surgical residency programs is unclear. The purpose of this study was to determine the current practices of surgery residency programs in the interview process and the application of established best practices.
  
  
  METHODS
  An online survey consisting of 26 questions was distributed to program directors of accredited surgery residency programs in the United States and Canada.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Overall, 108 responses (40%) were received. The vast majority of programs (90%) reported basing at least 25% of their final ranking on the interview score. Only 22 (20%) programs reported using some form of blinding for their interviewers. Five programs (5%) reported using standardized interview questions.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Few residency programs use blinded interviews or standardized questions. This may indicate a gap between research findings and practice and may represent an area for improvement in the resident selection process.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center-Shreveport, 1501 Kings Highway, Shreveport, LA 71130, USA. Electronic address: rkim@lsuhsc.edu.
authors.forename: Roger H
authors.initials: RH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Office of Academic Affairs, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center-Shreveport, Shreveport, LA, USA.
authors.forename: Timothy
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Gilbert
authors.affiliation: PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Sookyung
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Suh
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center-Shreveport, 1501 Kings Highway, Shreveport, LA 71130, USA.
authors.forename: Janet Karen
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Miller
authors.affiliation: Office of Academic Affairs, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center-Shreveport, Shreveport, LA, USA.
authors.forename: Jane M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Eggerstedt
mesh_terms: D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D002170:Canada; D013502:General Surgery / Q000193:education*; D019983:Guideline Adherence; D006801:Humans; D007396:Internship and Residency; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D015397:Program Evaluation; D012570:School Admission Criteria; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States
keywords: General surgery residency; Graduate medical education; Medical students; Residency interview; Resident selection; Undergraduate medical education