title: How well will you FIT? Use of a modified MMI to assess applicants' compatibility with an emergency medicine residency program.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Emergency medicine residency programs have evaluated the use of Multiple Mini Interviews (MMIs) for applicants. The authors developed an MMI-style method called the Fast Interview Track (FIT) to predict an applicant's 'fit' within an individual residency program.
  
  
  METHODS
  Applicants meet with up to five residents and are asked one question by each. Residents score the applicant using a Likert scale from 1 to 5 on two questions: 'How well does the applicant think on his/her feet?' and 'How well do you think the applicant will fit in here?'. To assess how well these questions predicted a resident's 'fit', current residents scored fellow residents on these same questions. These scores were compared with the residents' interview FIT scores. A postmatch survey of applicants who did not match at this program solicited applicants' attitudes toward the FIT sessions.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Among the junior class, the correlation between interview and current scores was significant for question 1 (rho=0.5192 [p=0.03]) and question 2 (rho=0.5753 [p=0.01]). Among seniors, Spearman's rho was statistically significant for question 2, though not statistically significant for question 1. The chi-square measure of high scores (4-5) versus low scores (1-3) found a statistically significant association between interview and current scores for interns and juniors. Of the 29 responses to the postmatch survey, 16 (55%) felt FIT sessions provided a good sense of the program's personality and only 6 (21%) disagreed. Nine (31%) felt FIT sessions positively impacted our program's ranking and 11 (38%) were 'Neutral'. Only two (7%) reported that FIT sessions negatively impacted their ranking of our program.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  FIT provided program leadership with a sense of an applicant's 'fit' within this program. Interview day scores correlated with scores received during residency. Most applicants report a positive experience with FIT sessions. FIT provides a useful tool to recruit applicants who fit with the residency program.
authors: Department of Emergency Medicine, College of Medicine, The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA; amin@aemrc.arizona.edu.
authors: Alice A
authors: AA
authors: Min
authors: Department of Emergency Medicine and Pediatrics, College of Medicine, The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA.
authors: Aaron
authors: A
authors: Leetch
authors: Department of Emergency Medicine, College of Medicine, The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA.
authors: Tomas
authors: T
authors: Nuño
authors: Department of Emergency Medicine, College of Medicine, The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA.
authors: Albert B
authors: AB
authors: Fiorello
mesh_terms: D004635:Emergency Medicine / Q000193:education* / Q000592:standards; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007396:Internship and Residency / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards; D007407:Interviews as Topic / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards; D008297:Male; D010551:Personality; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012570:School Admission Criteria
keywords: MMI; emergency medicine; residency interview