Nonacademic factors more strongly predict attrition than do than academic variables among surgery residents, according to findings reported in the July issue of the Archives of Surgery.
Factors linked to attrition are age older than 29 years and non-participation in team sports, Dr. Rebekah A. Naylor and colleagues at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas found.
The investigators conducted a retrospective study spanning the years 1991-2000 of 111 surgery residents. They assessed the residents’ satisfaction with the program and the mentors’ satisfaction with the residents who completed the program, in relation to variables in the surgery resident selection process.
“Of the 111 residents studied, 28 (25.2%) had an attrition unsatisfactory outcome; attrition occurred in 25 (22.5%),” Dr. Naylor and associates report.
Predictors of an unsatisfactory outcome were age older than 29 years at entry, no participation in team sports, a “lack of superlative comments” in the dean’s letter, and receiving a merit scholarship in medical school. Other factors linked to attrition were female gender, a need to repeat courses, and “C” grades on transcripts.
“Attrition can be predicted from factors identified on residency applications, with nonacademic factors being more important,” Dr. Naylor and colleagues conclude.
They add, “The present study shows that social and demographic factors may be more important factors related to outcome for surgery residents than traditional markers of academic achievement in medical school.”
Arch Surg 2008;143:647-652.
Reviewed by Ramaz Mitaishvili, MD
