Screening for Conscientiousness at Start of Residency: Early Detection of Professionalism Concerns

Introduction: Early identification of residents who may require remediation could help prevent problems for both individual residents and their programs. Our aim in this project was to identify whether residents prone to challenges with professionalism could be identified early.   Methods: For 3 years we tracked onboarding tasks completed by residents between official match and the first day of residency to develop a tool that would help identify residents who may be at risk for problems with timely chart completion and subsequent remediation. We compared residents’ “at risk” scores with in-training exam (ITE) scores to differentiate between professionalism (task completion issues) and medical knowledge. Results: Our at-risk tool successfully predicted timely chart completion rates and need for remediation within our residency program (Fischer’s exact P<.001), but was not predictive of ITE scores. Discussion: Using readily accessible information, we can identify residents at risk for poor task completion performance, who may benefit from extra support and development in the area of organizational skill. Early identification may increase opportunities for early intervention.