The Unbiased Selection of Resident Applicants: Can It Be Done?
This workshop addresses how to select applicants (and not who to select). The workshop draws on best practices recommended from the business literature and well known readily-accessible, recommended AAMC resources . These recommendations form the foundational framework in describing our own process for selecting, interviewing, and ranking applicants for GME programs.
Within that framework, we interweave the pioneering work of Nobel-laureate Daniel Kahneman (Thinking, Fast and Slow) and James Surowiecki (The Wisdom of Crowds). Using dual process theory, often used to describe how physicians think and reason, we demonstrate how System 1 thinking (i.e., unconscious, non-analytical, fast, automatic and emotional) can affect System 2 thinking (i.e., conscious, analytical, slow, effortful, and logical) in the overall selection process. We demonstrate how System 1 thinking can subtly affect each step of the applicant selection and interview process beginning with the pre-interview preparation, the interview exchange, and, finally, the post-interview discussion and reaction of the final rank list. Based on the work of Daniel Kahneman and James Surowiecki, we offer practical recommendations to minimize unconscious bias along each step and illustrate how these have been incorporated into our own residency program.
Within that framework, we interweave the pioneering work of Nobel-laureate Daniel Kahneman (Thinking, Fast and Slow) and James Surowiecki (The Wisdom of Crowds). Using dual process theory, often used to describe how physicians think and reason, we demonstrate how System 1 thinking (i.e., unconscious, non-analytical, fast, automatic and emotional) can affect System 2 thinking (i.e., conscious, analytical, slow, effortful, and logical) in the overall selection process. We demonstrate how System 1 thinking can subtly affect each step of the applicant selection and interview process beginning with the pre-interview preparation, the interview exchange, and, finally, the post-interview discussion and reaction of the final rank list. Based on the work of Daniel Kahneman and James Surowiecki, we offer practical recommendations to minimize unconscious bias along each step and illustrate how these have been incorporated into our own residency program.