Correlation Between Medical School Performance and Receiving Awards in General Surgery Residency

Importance: It is uncertain whether current measures of achievement during medical school predict exceptional performance during surgical residency. One surrogate of excellence during residency may be awards, especially those given for teaching and annual overall accomplishment.

Objective: Determine whether markers of superior performance during medical school documented in the Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS) application and student record correlated with receiving awards during residency.

Design: Data was analyzed from ERAS and student applications of 296 residency graduates. Spearman correlation coefficients were calculated.

Participants: 296 residency graduates from 14 US general surgery residency programs.

Main outcomes and measurements: The relationship between each residency and preresidency variable and the outcome of receiving any qualifying award. Secondary analysis included the correlation with winning a teaching or annual overall award.

Results: Although 140 (48%) residents received an award during residency, only 69 (23.3%) received a teaching award, while 50 (17.6%) received one for annual overall performance. Membership in Alpha Omega Alpha (AOA) and honors in pediatrics rotation correlated with receiving any award. USMLE step 1 score and AOA membership reached statistically significant positively correlation with receiving a teaching award, while completing a sub-internship at that institution was negatively associated. For annual overall awards, only completing a sub-internship at the same institution reached statistical significance.

Conclusions: None of the traditional metrics in the ERAS or global student record consistently correlated with receiving an award during residency. Our findings suggest that preresidency factors available on the global application, including grades, test scores, and honor society membership, poorly correlate with exceptional general surgery residency performance as measured by receiving awards. Residency programs should shift away from using traditional ERAS metrics as the primary criteria for selection, but rather as 1 component of holistic applicant review.