Correlating Participation in Team Sports and Resident Success

• Published in: Otolaryngology-head and neck surgery Vol. 145; no. 2_suppl; pp. P147 - P148
• Main Authors: Immerman, Sara, Shaikh, Jamil, Lebowitz, Richard, Roehm, Pamela C.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Los Angeles, CA SAGE Publications 01-08-2011
• ISSN: 0194-5998; 1097-6817
• DOI: 10.1177/0194599811415823a43

Objective: We hypothesize that participation in “team sports” as an undergraduate or in high school fosters development of a skill set improving interactions between the resident and other members of the healthcare team. The objective is to determine the utility of team sports participation as a criterion in resident selection.
Method: Retrospective review of applications to an otolaryngology residency program and scores on evaluations of otolaryngology residents.
Results: Residents who participated in organized team sports tended to have higher overall rankings on their evaluations as compared with co-residents without such past involvement. No correlation was seen with objective measures such as performance on in-service or Board certification examinations.
Conclusion: Involvement in team sports activities is a marker of skills and social attributes that correlates with improved scores on resident evaluations. Involvement in team sports can potentially be used during the resident selection process to select for similar individuals.