Journal of surgical education
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Selection of surgical residents is accomplished by processes unique to each institution based on anecdotal observations, self-evident truisms, and programmatic objectives. By closely examining how surgical residents are selected, we sought to determine whether this process accurately predicted exceptional clinical performance of matriculated residents. ⋯ Compared with a previous 10-point composite scoring system, faculty evaluations of personal characteristics and letters of reference were likely to predict subsequent resident clinical performance. USMLE scores and academic grade performance were predictive of subsequent formalized testing such as ABSITE, but they were poorly predictive of resident clinical performance. The resident selection process can be streamlined.