The role of blinded interviews in the assessment of surgical residency candidates

Background: Interview assessments of surgical residency candidates may be b iased by prior knowledge of objective data. Methods: Each candidate (site 1: n = 88; site 2: n = 44) underwent two inte rviews, one by faculty members informed only of a candidate's medical schoo l, the second with prior knowledge of the complete application. Interviewer s (site 1: n = 28; site 2: n 14) independently rated candidates overall and on nine qualitative characteristics. Results: At site 1 only, overall ratings were significantly more favorable for unblinded than blinded interviews (23.0 +/- 17.7 versus 32.6 +/- 23.1, P < 0.01). Blinded and unblinded overall ratings correlated -0.01 (P = 0.90 ) and 0.31 (P = 0.05) at sites I and 2, respectively. At site I only, overa ll ratings correlated significantly with USMLE scores, but in opposite dire ctions for blinded (r = 0.32, P = 0.003) versus unblinded interviews (r = - 0.32, P = 0.003). Conclusion: Interview assessments may be influenced by objective data, and faculty and program variables. The value of blinded interviewing may vary a s a function of individual program characteristics. (C) 2001 Excerpta Medic a, Inc. All rights reserved.