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Ask the expert: How can I prepare residents for a site visitor interview?

Residency Program Connection, January 15, 2008

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Here are a few things you can do to help a resident prepare for the interview:

• Convey to them the importance of answering all questions honestly and respectfully
• Remind them that what they say to the site visitor is confidential 
• Provide residents with a copy of your specialty's review committee (RC) requirements (although residents probably received one when joining your program, it's a good idea to give them another copy)
• Provide residents with a copy of the program information form's (PIF) narrative sections
• Advise junior residents never to make up an answer to a question. If they do not know an answer, tell them to defer to more seasoned residents.

Note: While preparing a resident for an interview with a site visitor is a good idea, it is very important not to feed residents answers, tell them what to say, or rehearse with them.  

More information about site visit preparation can be found in Insider's Guide to ACGME Site Visit, Second Edition, by Kathryn Andolsek, MD, MPH, and Shepard Cohen, available here.

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