Factors that Contribute to Resident Teaching Effectiveness

Attitudes of the Third-Year Clinical Anesthesiology Residents Toward an Independent Clinical Practice Rotation in COVID-19 Pandemic in Iran

BACKGROUND

COVID-19 was a worldwide pandemic with international health emergencies and great challenges; health care personnel shortage and physician burnout is a potential major challenge that should be planned and managed; especially in those countries with a high COVID-19 occurrence.

OBJECTIVES

This study was designed to assess the attitudes of 3rd-year anesthesiology residents toward an independent one month-length clinical care course for patients with COVID-19.

METHODS

A closed self-administered questionnaire was developed to assess the attitudes of 3rd-year clinical anesthesiology residents. A self-administered closed questionnaire was developed. Cronbach's alpha was calculated to measure the reliability of the questionnaire; added with a factor analysis process.

RESULTS

All 19 clinical anesthesiology residents took part in the study, with a 100% response rate. Cronbach's alpha for the reliability of the questionnaire was 0.678. The eigenvalue for 8 factors was equal to 1; however, further assessment led us to 7 factors.

CONCLUSIONS

This one-month period could improve the competencies of the 3rd year clinical anesthesiology residents based on their viewpoints. Since the COVID-19 pandemic is ongoing health and social problem worldwide, 3rd-year anesthesiology residents could help the health system to recover health care delivery faults regarding manpower; a promising point for crisis preparedness in the COVID-19 pandemic. Besides, there were many constructive results for the clinical anesthesiology residents regarding their training and clinical service delivery.

Are USMLE Scores Valid Measures for Chief Resident Selection?

BACKGROUND

The US Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) Step 1 and Step 2 scores are often used to inform a variety of secondary medical career decisions, such as residency selection, despite the lack of validity evidence supporting their use in these contexts.

OBJECTIVE

We compared USMLE scores between non-chief residents (non-CRs) and chief residents (CRs), selected based on performance during training, at a US academic medical center that sponsors a variety of graduate medical education programs.

METHODS

This was a retrospective cohort study of residents' USMLE Step 1 and Step 2 Clinical Knowledge (CK) scores from 2015 to 2020. The authors used archived data to compare USMLE Step 1 and Step 2 CK scores between non-CR residents in each of the eligible programs and their CRs during the 6-year study period.

RESULTS

Thirteen programs enrolled a total of 1334 non-CRs and 211 CRs over the study period. There were no significant differences overall between non-CRs and CRs average USMLE Step 1 (239.81 ± 14.35 versus 240.86 ± 14.31; P = .32) or Step 2 scores (251.06 ± 13.80 versus 252.51 ± 14.21; P = .16).

CONCLUSIONS

There was no link between USMLE Step 1 and Step 2 CK scores and CR selection across multiple clinical specialties over a 6-year period. Reliance on USMLE Step 1 and 2 scores to predict success in residency as measured by CR selection is not recommended.