Residency

Dangle the carrot to encourage resident compliance

Residency Program Alert, June 1, 2010

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t’s difficult for coordinators to successfully monitor and improve resident compliance in these areas and keep a congenial relationship with trainees, says Tiffany Nemetz, pediatric and internal medicine/pediatrics program coordinator at University of Massachusetts Medical School in Worcester (UMass). 

Although some coordinators may find that a punitive approach—“the stick”—is effective to get residents in line, Nemetz and her colleague, Gretchen Jones, also a pediatric and internal medicine/pediatrics program coordinator at UMass, subscribe to “the carrot” approach, which uses positive reinforcement to encourage desired behaviors.

Nemetz and Jones created new streamlined systems that made residents’ lives easier. By putting more efficient systems in place, residents took ownership of tracking and completing their administrative tasks. 

Increase resident compliance in your program with carrots instead of sticks.

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