The effect of assessor professional background on interview evaluation during residency selection: A mixed-methods study.

BACKGROUND

Residency interviewer scores are greatly variable and seems to be influenced by personal characteristics of assessors, although factors contributing to variability remain unclear. The study sought to determine how different professional backgrounds influence assessors' scores.

METHODS

Fifty-five general surgery applicants rotated through an interview station assessing teamwork. They were scored by surgeons, human-resource managers, pilots, athletes. Pearson's correlation and a repeated-measures ANOVA were used to determine correlations between professions. Structured interviews were used to probe for scoring rationale.

RESULTS

Interview scores differed significantly between professions (F (3, 159) = 11.12, p < 0.001. Qualitative analysis revealed that due to the challenge of distinguishing between similarly performing candidates, assessors rely on global impressions informed by personal values.

CONCLUSION

Assessor variability is ubiquitous, in part due to the subjective nature of interviews and is associated with personal values. When selecting assessors, programs should choose diverse assessors to assess to ensure a reliable selection process.