Reliability of a faculty evaluated scoring system for anesthesiology resident applicants (Original Investigation)

Abstract Study Objective To assess reliability and reproducibility of a recently instituted anesthesiology resident applicant interview scoring system at our own institution. Design Retrospective evaluation of 2 years of interview data with a newly implemented scoring system using randomly assigned interviewing faculty. Setting Interview scoring evaluations were completed as standard practice in a large academic anesthesiology department. Subjects All anesthesiology resident applicants interviewed over the 2013/14 and 2014/15 seasons by a stable cohort of faculty interviewers. Data collection blinded for both interviewers and interviewees. Interventions None for purposes of study – collation of blinded data already used as standard practice during interview process and analysis. Measurements None specific to study. Main Results Good inter-rater faculty reliability of interview scoring (day-of) and excellent inter-faculty reliability of application review (pre-interview). Conclusions Development of a department-specific interview scoring system including many elements beyond traditional standardized tests shows good-excellent reliability of faculty scoring of both the interview itself (including non-technical skills) and the application resume.