Know your residency applicants well
CMAJ 1997;156:977
See also:
- Letter: Making career choices easier, D. Omahen
Dr. Tara Young deserves great credit for using her article "Teaching medical students to lie" (CMAJ 1997;156:219-22 [full text / en bref]) to focus on ways the current method for matching trainees to specialty programs encourages deception and lying. She clearly points out how harmful this is to all those involved in the matching process.
Cardiac surgery is a newcomer to the matching process, and we are very disturbed by this phenomenon, even if it is understandable. The steps Young proposed for remedying the situation, such as listing all programs that a candidate has applied to, would help solve the problem. They should be considered by the Canadian Resident Matching Service.
In our program we now give serious consideration only to those who have spent some elective time with us. In this way we learn about the students, and they learn about us. With only 1 position available per year, we consider this a vital aspect of the screening process. It may place a well-intentioned student who has not done a rotation with us at a disadvantage, but under the current circumstances we believe it is the most reliable method for ranking our applicants.
Chris Feindel, MD
Program Director
Cardiac Surgery
University of Toronto
Toronto, Ont.
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