BACKGROUND: Annually, orthopedic residency programs rank and recruit the best possible candidates. Little evidence exists identifying factors that potential candidates use to select their career paths. Recent literature from nonsurgical programs suggests hospital, social and program-based factors influence program selection. We sought to determine what factors influence the choice of an orthopedic career and a candidate's choice of orthopedic residency program. METHODS: We surveyed medical student applicants to orthopedic programs and current Canadian orthopedic surgery residents (postgraduate year [PGY] 1-5). The confidential online survey focused on 3 broad categories of program selection: educational, program cohesion and noneducation factors. Questions were graded on a Likert Scale and tailed for mean scores. RESULTS: In total, 139 residents from 11 of 17 Canadian orthopedic programs (49% response rate) and 23 medical student applicants (88% response rate) completed our survey. Orthopedic electives and mandatory rotations were reported by 71% of participants as somewhat or very important to their career choice. Collegiality among residents (4.70 ± 0.6), program being the "right fit" (4.65 ± 0.53) and current resident satisfaction with their chosen program (4.63 ±0.66) were ranked with the highest mean scores on a 5-point Likert scale. CONCLUSION: There are several modifiable factors that residency programs may use to attract applicants, including early availability of clerkship rotations and a strong mentorship environment emphasizing both resident-resident and resident-staff cohesion. Desirable residency programs should develop early access to surgical and operative skills. These must be balanced with a continued emphasis on top-level orthopedic training.
BACKGROUND: Annually, orthopedic residency programs rank and recruit the best possible candidates. Little evidence exists identifying factors that potential candidates use to select their career paths. Recent literature from nonsurgical programs suggests hospital, social and program-based factors influence program selection. We sought to determine what factors influence the choice of an orthopedic career and a candidate's choice of orthopedic residency program. METHODS: We surveyed medical student applicants to orthopedic programs and current Canadian orthopedic surgery residents (postgraduate year [PGY] 1-5). The confidential online survey focused on 3 broad categories of program selection: educational, program cohesion and noneducation factors. Questions were graded on a Likert Scale and tailed for mean scores. RESULTS: In total, 139 residents from 11 of 17 Canadian orthopedic programs (49% response rate) and 23 medical student applicants (88% response rate) completed our survey. Orthopedic electives and mandatory rotations were reported by 71% of participants as somewhat or very important to their career choice. Collegiality among residents (4.70 ± 0.6), program being the "right fit" (4.65 ± 0.53) and current resident satisfaction with their chosen program (4.63 ±0.66) were ranked with the highest mean scores on a 5-point Likert scale. CONCLUSION: There are several modifiable factors that residency programs may use to attract applicants, including early availability of clerkship rotations and a strong mentorship environment emphasizing both resident-resident and resident-staff cohesion. Desirable residency programs should develop early access to surgical and operative skills. These must be balanced with a continued emphasis on top-level orthopedic training.
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Authors: Mohammed O Shafiq; Aliaa F Khaja; Abdulmuhsen N Alshammari; Mohammad A Altayeb; Khaled M Ghabban; Khalid I Khoshhal Journal: J Taibah Univ Med Sci Date: 2019-04-01
Authors: Amiethab A Aiyer; Caroline J Granger; Kyle L McCormick; Cara A Cipriano; Jonathan R Kaplan; Matthew A Varacallo; Seth D Dodds; William N Levine Journal: J Am Acad Orthop Surg Date: 2020-08-01 Impact factor: 3.020