Evaluating the Whole Applicant - Use of Situational Judgment Testing and Personality Testing to Address Disparities in Resident Selection

Sep 18, 2026

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Purpose of Review: Urology residency programs face a growing volume of applications, making holistic candidate review increasingly difficult. Traditional cognitive metrics have not reliably predicted overall resident performance. This review explains situational judgment tests and personality assessment tools and summarizes current literature on using them in medical education. Recent Findings: Evidence indicates SJTs may reduce bias, increase diversity, and predict residency performance; PATs may assess program fit and traits tied to high performance and milestones.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages10

Reading Time25 min

AccessFree to download

Purpose of Review

Recent Findings

Summary

Introduction

Challenges to Resident Selection

Cognitive Metrics and Equity Concerns

Fit-Based Evaluation in Applications and Interviews

Current Urology Reports (2022) 23:309–318 [https://doi.org/10.1007/s1](https://doi.org/10.1007/s1) 1934-022-01115-8 Evaluating the Whole Applicant: Use of Situational Judgment Testing and Personality Testing to Address Disparities in Resident Selection Elizabeth B. Takacs1 · Chad R. Tracy1 Accepted: 18 July 2022 / Published online: 18 October 2022 © The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2022 Abstract Purpose of Review Urology program directors are faced with increasing numbers of applications annually, making holistic review of each candidate progressively more difficult. Efforts to streamline evaluation using traditional cognitive metrics have fallen short as these do not predict overall resident performance. Situational judgment tests (SJTs) and personality assessment tools (PATs) have been used in business and industry for decades to evaluate candidates and measure non-cognitive attributes that better predict subsequent performance. The purpose of this review is to describe what these assessments are and the current literature on the use of these metrics in medical education. Recent Findings SJTs relative to PATs have more original research. Data suggests that SJTs decrease bias, increase diversity, and may be predictive of performance in residency. PATs are also emerging with data to support use with ability to assess fit to program and certain traits identified more consistently among high-performing residents and correlation to performance on ACGME milestones. PATs may be more coachable than SJTs. Summary SJTs and PATs are emerging as techniques to supplement the current resident application review process. Early evidence supports their use in undergraduate medical education as does some early preliminary results in graduate medical education. Keywords Situational judgment test · Personality assessment tools · Resident selection · Urology · Recruitment · Diversity Introduction Resident selection has recently been challenged in ways that many could not have anticipated. In February 2020, the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) provided notification that the step 1 certification exam would be converted to a pass/fail format effective January 2022. This was quickly followed by the upheaval of COVID-19, leading to multiple medical schools transitioning to pass/ fail clerkship grades and a shift toward virtual interviews. Simultaneously, the question of equity and diversity in medical honors societies led many schools to suspend or remove their involvement in the Alpha Omega Alpha (AOA) honor society [1]. Concurrently, there has been increasing pressure to implement a more holistic and transparent review process This article is part of the Topical Collection on Education * Elizabeth B. Takacs [elizabeth-takacs@uiowa.edu](elizabeth-takacs@uiowa.edu) 1 Department of Urology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242-1089, USA for screening residency applications and recognition of the need to do more to create workforce diversity. “The match” as it was designed by the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP) is created to be an applicantcentric model. Within this model, the goal is to ensure the applicant has the most favorable outcome, with programs having stable results over time [2] . Applicants and programs have evolved their approach to this process, placing increased value on USMLE step 1 performance, away rotations, and the number of programs to which applicants apply [3, 4]. In urology alone, the average number of applications submitted per applicant has increased from 63 in 2015 to 82 in 2022 [5]. During this time, however, programs have been slower to evolve, relying on traditional and often antiquated methods of applicant screening that are steeped in bias and provide little relevance to subsequent resident performance. Historically, USMLE step 1 and 2 scores, grades in required clerkships and specialt

FAQs

Why do urology programs need alternatives to traditional holistic review?

Programs face increasing numbers of applications each year, making holistic review progressively more difficult while still needing better predictors of resident success.

What are situational judgment tests (SJTs) and how do they relate to bias and diversity?

SJTs assess non-cognitive attributes and emerging data suggest they can decrease bias, increase diversity, and may predict residency performance.

How do personality assessment tools (PATs) differ from SJTs in resident selection?

PATs provide information on program fit and traits that correlate with high-performing residents and ACGME milestones, and may be more coachable than SJTs.

Sep 18, 2026

Uploaded by Fans