Introductory Video as a Supplemental Application for General Surgery Residency Candidates: Concept, Implementation, Preliminary Outcomes, and Future Directions.

OBJECTIVE: The residency selection process has changed dramatically over the past several years, primarily due to the COVID-19 pandemic causing a transition to virtual interviews and limiting sub-internship opportunities. Another new major change is the transition of the USMLE Step 1 examination from a numerical score to pass/fail as of January 2022. In anticipation of this major change, our program asked applicants to submit a short video clip expressing their interest. PARTICIPANTS: Review of each of the videos was completed by three members of the admission committee and each reviewer was required to complete formal implicit bias training prior to reviewing the videos. RESULTS: Over 1200 general surgery residency applications were received via the Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS) for the 2022-2023 application cycle. 286 applicants were selected for a formal interview invitation and asked to submit a 2-minute introductory video. In response, 222 (77.62%) of the 286 cohort submitted introductory videos. 210 of these videos (94.59%) were submitted within the first week. The average length of the videos submitted was 105.10 seconds. CONCLUSION: Using optional introductory videos as a supplemental application has helped to narrow the applicant pool and identify individuals to offer interviews.

Concurrent Validity Evidence for Entrustable Professional Activities in General Surgery Residents.

BACKGROUND: A subset of Entrustable Professional Activities (EPAs) has been developed for general surgery. We aim to contribute validity evidence for EPAs as an assessment framework for general surgery residents, including concurrent validity compared to ACGME milestones, the current gold standard for evaluating competency. STUDY DESIGN: This is a cross-sectional study in a general surgery training program within a tertiary academic medical center. EPA assessments were submitted using a mobile app and scored on a numerical scale, mirroring milestones. EPA score distribution was analyzed with respect to post-graduate year (PGY) level and phase of care. Proportional odds logistic regression identified significant predictors. Spearman rank and Wilcoxon rank tests were used for comparisons with milestone ratings. RESULTS: From August 2018 to December 2019, 320 assessments were collected. EPA scores increased by PGY level. Operative phase EPA scores were significantly lower than nonoperative phase scores. PGY level, operative phase, and case difficulty significantly influenced entrustment scoring. EPA scores demonstrated strong correlation with nonoperative milestones patient care-1, medical knowledge-1, interpersonal and communication skills-2, interpersonal and communication skills-3, professionalism-1, professionalism-3, and practice-based learning and improvement-2 (ρ > 0.5, p < 0.05) and a weaker correlation with operative milestones patient care-3 and medical knowledge-2 (ρ < 0.5, p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The influence of PGY level and operative phase on entrustment scoring supports the validity of EPAs as a formative evaluation framework for general surgery resident performance. In addition, evident correlations between EPA scores and respective milestone ratings provide concurrent validity evidence.