Diagnostic Radiology Resident Recruitment Part I

To the best of our knowledge, there is little available organized advice for diagnostic radiology residency program directors and their programs regarding resident recruitment. We are a group of current and former program directors who are current vice chairs for education and continue to advise and to mentor many educators. We have constructed this article along the yearly schedule of trainee recruitment, including an application review, interviews, and troublesome trends that we have observed.

Introduction

This work was performed by a subgroup of vice chairs for education in several radiology departments within the United States and meant to be a resource for diagnostic radiology (DR) residency programs and hopefully of use to interventional radiology residency programs as well. Some portions may also be of use to other graduate medical education (GME) training programs. This group of authors cumulatively has decades of program director (PD) experience, has reviewed many thousands of applications, and has interviewed thousands of candidates. We are either currently DR PDs or have recently served in this role and are a working group of Alliance of Directors and Vice Chairs of Education in Radiology (ADVICER) ; the opinions contained herein are ours and not necessarily that of ADVICER. The following is organized on the yearly application cycle and is not meant to be all-inclusive and is part 1 of a two-part series.

Before the Interview Season Starts

Communications

Inquiries to programs and program directors before applying

Many applicants do not send an inquiry to the program or PD in advance of the application process. However, in some situations, this is not only commonplace but is also expected. For example, when a medical student participates in an away rotation in radiology, it is typical for the student to request to meet with the PD. As this expectation is not obvious to all students, it would be inappropriate to hold a lack of this request against a student. Usually, this request results in a brief “meet and greet.” Sometimes, students have a great deal to talk about, particularly if they come from an institution without a highly developed radiology advising system or if they are highly skilled at social interactions and are trying to “manage” the situation.

Website

An online presence with an easily navigated website is an important source of information for potential applicants. As such, applicants may form their initial impression of the residency program based on website content . In their survey of 70 radiology residency candidates at the University of Arkansas, Deloney et al. found that the following 10 items were rated as “necessary” website content by at least 50% of survey respondents: “list of current residents (77%), list of faculty (69%), directions to hospital/department (66%), campus maps (59%), a description of the application process (57%), list of fellowships/jobs obtained by recent alumni (57%), recent/upcoming department/program changes and news (53%), interview dates and itinerary (51%), benefits and salary (50%), and the academic schedule (50%)” . A website can also be used to showcase innovative program and department initiatives, comments from current or former residents, and other features unique to the residency program or institution.

Social media is increasingly being incorporated into medical education . GME programs also appear to be integrating social medial into their training programs to enhance online visibility . In a 2011 study of radiology PDs, Deloney et al. found that approximately 38% participated in electronic social media sites , and we suspect that an even higher percentage of PDs are currently participating in social media. In addition to highlighting information about the program and the department, some PDs are using social media to help screen applicants during the residency recruitment process . A review of the applicant’s social media profile can result in a lower ranking of the applicant . Given the complexity and the visibility of issues related to social media, it is advisable to have intentional central control of content, approach, policy, and procedure when it comes to your department and your program.

Offering Interviews

Traditional (fourth-year US medical students) vs nontraditional (eg, non-US students and graduates with other training or experience) applicants

For programs, it is important to understand how their chair or GME office expects each program to respond to applications from these candidates.

Reviewing applications

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Interview

Lead-up

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The interview itself

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How and when to score applicants

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Post Interview

Contacting applicants

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Rank order list strategies

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Statements of interest

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Thank-you notes

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Supplemental Offer and Acceptance Program ® (SOAP ® ) strategies

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Troublesome Trends

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Conclusions

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References

1. Lewis P.J., Probyn L., McGuinness G., et. al.: Developing a job description for a vice chair of education in radiology: the ADVICER template. Acad Radiol 2015; 22: pp. 933-938.
2. Alliance of Directors and Vice Chairs of Education in Radiology : https://www.aur.org/ADVICER/
3. Deloney L.A., Perrot L.J., Lensing S.Y., et. al.: Radiology resident recruitment: a study of the impact of web-based information and interview day activities. Acad Radiol 2014; 21: pp. 931-937.
4. Mahler S.A., Wagner M.J., Church A., et. al.: Residency program Web sites are very important to emergency medicine applicants. Ann Emerg Med 2003; 42: pp. S75.
5. Mahler S.A., Wagner M.J., Church A., et. al.: Importance of residency program web sites to emergency medicine applicants. J Emerg Med 2009; 36: pp. 83-88.
6. Cheston C.C., Flickinger T.E., Chisolm M.S.: Social media use in medical education: a systematic review. Acad Med 2013; 88: pp. 893-901.
7. Sterling M., Leung P., Wright D., et. al.: The use of social media in graduate medical education: a systematic review. Acad Med 2017; 92: pp. 1043-1056.
8. Sterling M., Leung .P., Wright D., et. al.: The use of social media in graduate medical education (GME): a systematic review. J Gen Intern Med 2016; 31: pp. S436-S437.
9. Deloney L.A., Rozenshtein A., Deitte L.A., et. al.: What program directors think: results of the 2011 annual survey of the Association of Program Directors in Radiology. Acad Radiol 2012; 19: pp. 1583-1588.
10. Go P.H., Klaassen Z., Chamberlain R.S.: Attitudes and practices of surgery residency program directors toward the use of social networking profiles to select residency candidates: a nationwide survey analysis. J Surg Educ 2012; 69: pp. 292-300.
11. Association of American Medical Colleges : https://www.aamc.org/services/eras/
12. Boyse T.D., Patterson S.K., Cohan R.H., et. al.: Does medical school performance predict radiology resident performance?. Acad Radiol 2002; 9: pp. 437-445.
13. Rezek I., McDonald R.J., Kallmes D.F.: Pre-residency publication rate strongly predicts future academic radiology potential. Acad Radiol 2012; 19: pp. 632-634.
14. Grimm L.J., Shapiro L.M., Singhapricha T., et. al.: Predictors of an academic career on radiology residency applications. Acad Radiol 2014; 21: pp. 685-690.
15. : http://www.usmle.org/pdfs/transcripts/USMLE_Step_Examination_Score_Interpretation_Guidelines.pdf
16. Naidich N.B., Grimaldi G.M., Lombardi P., et. al.: A program director’s guide to the medical student performance evaluation (former dean’s letter) with a database. J Am Coll Radiol 2014; 11: pp. 611-615.
17. Alpha Omega Alpha : http://alphaomegaalpha.org/how.html
18. Arnold P. Gold Foundation : http://www.gold-foundation.org/programs/ghhs/
19. : http://www.nrmp.org/match-process/registration-ranking-results/
20. Blouin D., Day A.G., Pavlov A.: Comparative reliability of structured versus unstructured interviews in the admission process of a residency program. J Grad Med Educ 2011; 3: pp. 517-523.
21. Illahi Y., Alkhoury G., Khan Z., et. al.: Panel interview for internal medicine residency selection: pros and cons. Int J Med Educ 2017; 8: pp. 59-60.
22. : http://www.nrmp.org
23. American Board of Radiology : https://www.theabr.org/diagnostic-radiology/initial-certification/core-exam
24. DeStigter K.K., Mainiero M.B., Janower M.L., et. al.: Resident clinical duties while preparing for the ABR core examination: position statement of the Association of Program Directors in Radiology. J Am Coll Radiol 2012; 9: pp. 832-834.

Diagnostic Radiology Resident Recruitment Part I

Introduction

Before the Interview Season Starts

Communications

Inquiries to programs and program directors before applying

Website

Social media

Offering Interviews

Traditional (fourth-year US medical students) vs nontraditional (eg, non-US students and graduates with other training or experience) applicants

Reviewing applications

Interview

Lead-up

The interview itself

How and when to score applicants

Post Interview

Contacting applicants

Rank order list strategies

Statements of interest

Thank-you notes

Supplemental Offer and Acceptance Program ® (SOAP ® ) strategies

Troublesome Trends

Conclusions

References

Further Reading

(Lack of) Measurable Clinical or Knowledge Gains From Resident Participation in Noon Conference

Attitudes of Radiology Program Directors Toward MD-PhD Trainees, Resident Research Productivity, and Dedicated Research Time

Best Practices From the APDR