Advancing, Graduating, and Attesting Readiness of Pediatrics Residents With Concerns.

Abstract

Determine the prevalence of advancing and graduating residents with concerns as well as attesting readiness to the American Board of Pediatrics for residents not deemed ready at graduation among pediatric program directors. Surveys were sent to pediatric program directors from July to September 2024 to explore their experiences of graduating residents for whom they had concerns, graduating residents they would not trust to care for their loved ones, attesting readiness to the American Board of Pediatrics despite concerns, and advancing residents from 1 year to another despite having concerns. 117/208 (56%) program directors completed the survey. A total 79% (93/117) reported graduating at least one resident despite having concerns about doing so. Fewer (43%, 50/117) had graduated at least one resident they would not trust to care for their loved one. Fewer, 26% (31/117), reported attesting to readiness for a resident to sit for the American Board of Pediatrics initial certification exam despite concerns regarding the resident's ability to practice without supervision as a general pediatrician. Finally, 79% (92/117) reported advancing at least one resident from one training year to the next despite concerns regarding the resident's ability to take on additional responsibility. These findings add to a growing literature raising concerns about the readiness of some residency graduates to meet the needs of patients. While program directors served as the source of information in this study, collective responsibility for both the issues presented and the ownership in addressing them are wide ranging.