Surgical Aptitude Testing among Ophthalmology Residency Applicants: Current Utilization and Residency Program Directors' Perspectives

Abstract

Purpose To investigate the proportion of United States ophthalmology residency programs that utilize surgical aptitude testing during the applicant interview, and the perspectives of program directors (PDs) regarding surgical aptitude testing of applicants.

Design This is a cross-sectional survey.

Methods An anonymous survey constructed on REDCap was emailed to the PD of each ophthalmology residency accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education. Main outcome measures are proportion of programs which include surgical aptitude testing during the applicant interview, and proportion of PDs who (1) believe the current residency application process adequately assesses applicants' surgical aptitude; (2) believe surgical aptitude testing results predict surgical success; and (3) favor inclusion of surgical aptitude testing for applicant evaluation.

Results Of 115 PDs, 63 completed the survey (54.8%). One (1.6%) reported current use of surgical aptitude testing during the interview and 6 (9.5%) used such testing previously. Fifty-five (87.3%) respondents do not believe the residency application process adequately assesses surgical aptitude. Most respondents (40/63, 63.5%) do not support using results from currently available surgical aptitude testing strategies performed during the interview to rank applicants; 47 (74.6%) do not believe results of such testing predict ultimate surgical potential. However, 35 (55.6%) would use surgical aptitude data for applicant screening if valid testing could be performed before the interview.

Conclusion While most PDs do not believe the current ophthalmology residency application process adequately assesses surgical aptitude, screening for surgical aptitude during the application process is seldom employed, largely due to a perceived lack of valid testing strategies available.

Keywords

resident selection - surgical aptitude - dexterity - stereoacuity - interview testing - milestones - competencies

Note

This study was presented in part at the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology Annual Meeting, 2019, Vancouver British Columbia, Canada.

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