The chief resident selection process: A national survey of internal medicine residency program directors

Paul O’Rourke, MD MPH, Patricia F. Kao, MD MS MHPE, Jillian S. Catalanotti, MD MPH, Erica N. Johnson, MD, Armand Krikorian, MD MBA, Christopher J Moreland, MD MPH, Ronda Mourad, MD, Brian Uthlaut, MD, Tyler J. Albert, MD

Introduction: Chief residents serve vital roles in graduate medical education (GME). Internal medicine chief residents often serve as “middle managers” of their programs, active in educational, administrative, and clinical efforts. Seventy-nine percent of internal medicine program directors report previously being chief residents, underscoring the fact that chief residents constitute an important pipeline for program leadership. Furthermore, 41% of chief residents are given an academic title (Instructor or Assistant Professor), reinforcing that the chief resident role serves a role in faculty service and possibly as an important entry point for academic medicine careers. However, there is a paucity of literature evaluating chief resident selection processes.

The objective of our study was to characterize how internal medicine programs recruit and select chief residents. Understanding the current internal medicine chief resident selection process and process outcomes may help inform future efforts to optimize and standardize selection practices to foster transparency and equity.