How does current paediatrics residency selection criteria correlate with residency performance?

Abstract

The selection process for potential residents needs to be reviewed regularly and assessed if effective in selecting the best-fit residents who can achieve academic and professional excellence. Objective measures must take precedence over subjective criteria to reduce selection bias while ensuring transparency and accountability. However, the predictors of an ideal resident and his/her performance during residency training have been a great challenge to identify as part of the selection process. The use of examination results from medical school examination, licensing examinations such as the United States Medical Licensing Examination,1,2,3 and structured interviews4 was reported to correlate positively with doctor’s performances. A Canadian study also reported that the presence of scholarly activity did not affect match outcome, though this is variable for different programmes.5 Competitive programmes like paediatrics have a vested interest in selecting the most suitable applicants who will excel as paediatric residents and emerge as holistic, high-performing paediatricians in their field.6