Resident Selection Policy

A. GENERAL POLICY STATEMENT

Bassett Medical Center believes in selecting postgraduate medical education trainees to participate in residency programs on the basis of their academic achievements and potential to succeed in the programs offered by the hospital. The guidelines included in this policy apply to all residency programs sponsored at Bassett Medical Center and are designed to provide these programs with a consistent and fair method of selecting applicants.

B. SCOPE
This Policy and Procedure applies to all resident selection committees, program directors and coordinators, clinical chiefs, and medical education administrative staff.

C. ADMINISTRATION

The Administrative Director of Medical Education will be responsible for coordination of this policy and the altering of provisions therein, in conjunction with the Graduate Medical Education Committee.

D. PROCEDURE

1. All PGY-1 positions available to fourth-year allopathic and osteopathic medical students in U.S. allopathic and osteopathic medical schools will be offered through the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP). U.S. allopathic and osteopathic physicians and qualified international medical graduates will be encouraged to participate in the NRMP process, but may be offered positions in advance of the match as permitted by NRMP Regulations. Only international medical graduates eligible to enter the U.S. as exchange visitors (J-1 visa) or who are permanent residents will be considered as candidates.
    
2. Each applicant will be required to submit an ERAS (Electronic Resident Application Service) application form, dean's letter of recommendation, three letters of recommendation from faculty members involved in their education, and an official medical school transcript. Scores on steps taken in the United States Medical Licensure Examination and English Language and Clinical Patient Assessment skill examinations (when applicable) are also required. International medical graduates will be required to submit evidence of Educational Commission on Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG) certification in order to be considered.
    
3. Applications will be screened by program directors and coordinators and those meeting individual program standards will be invited to visit Bassett for a personal interview.
    
4. Applicants unable to visit due to extenuating circumstances will be afforded the opportunity to complete a telephone or video-conferenced interview.
    
5. Applicants will not be disqualified on the basis of age, race, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, or disabling medical condition.
    
6. Prior to the submission of the rank order list to the National Resident Match Program, a committee appointed by the program director with the concurrence of the clinical chief will meet and determine the desirability, eligibility, and rank order of candidates.
    
7. The program's rank order list will be reviewed by the Director of Medical Education prior to submission to the National Resident Matching Program.
    
8. Should any program fail to completely match through the NRMP process, applicants will be screened and positions offered based on the same selection criteria noted above.

E. DISTRIBUTION

This policy and procedure will be included in the Graduate Medical Education Policy and Procedure Manual and distributed to all manual holders.

F. REVISIONS

It shall be the responsibility of the Administrative Director of Medical Education in conjunction with the Graduate Medical Education Committee to review and initiate changes in this policy.