Mp17-09 Were Standardized Letters of Evaluation (Sloe) Invented at Lake Wobegon?

You have accessJournal of UrologyEducation Research I (MP17)1 May 2024MP17-09 WERE STANDARDIZED LETTERS OF EVALUATION (SLOE) INVENTED AT LAKE WOBEGON? Lauren P. Dori, Charles Welliver, and Barry A. Kogan Lauren P. DoriLauren P. Dori , Charles WelliverCharles Welliver , and Barry A. KoganBarry A. Kogan View All Author Informationhttps://doi.org/10.1097/01.JU.0001008628.15460.84.09AboutPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints ShareFacebookLinked InTwitterEmail Abstract INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVE: The methods residency programs use to select residents vary highly. While some aspects of residency applications such as USMLE scores are objective, letters of recommendation are not. Some have suggested there be a standardized letter of evaluation (SLOE) to provide a more objective and accurate representation of an applicant's qualifications. Our study assessed whether the use of this new letter format could better stratify candidates. We hypothesized that SLOE would have a normal distribution of grading. METHODS: We analyzed 333 applications from the 2022-2023 Electronic Residency Application Service sent to Albany Medical College. SLOE rank students as "exceptional", "outstanding", "excellent", "very good", and "good". We created a distribution of the rankings given to applicants based on three criteria in the letters that were similar in all SLOE: the applicant's potential as a urology resident, potential as an academic urology attending, and performance on our urology service as a sub-intern. Additionally, using the SLOE nomenclature, we converted rankings of "exceptional" to 1, "outstanding" to 2, "excellent" to 3, "very good" to 4, and "good" to 5. Each criterion was scored individually, and we calculated an average score for the three criteria mentioned. We assessed any correlations between the average score and other demographic information. RESULTS: Of the 333 applicants, 101 applicants had SLOE, and a total of 127 letters were analyzed. Grading distributions of the 3 questions are in the Figure. There is a strong bias towards more positive scores. The mean average score was 2.05 (+/-SD 0.80), correlating with "outstanding." When correlating the average score with other metrics in residency applications, only US News & World Report rank was statistically higher with a better average score (R2=20.5, p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: We found a strong bias towards positive evaluations, rejecting our hypothesis. When we tried to correlate this with other factors in the applications, only USNWR medical school ranking was related. Schools ranked higher potentially had better students who are more prepared for urology rotations. Conversely, there could be implicit bias towards students from higher ranked schools. SLOE for urology applicants are unevenly distributed and fail to separate candidates for residency selection. Download PPT Source of Funding: N/A © 2024 by American Urological Association Education and Research, Inc.FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Volume 211Issue 5SMay 2024Page: e294 Advertisement Copyright & Permissions© 2024 by American Urological Association Education and Research, Inc.Metrics Author Information Lauren P. Dori More articles by this author Charles Welliver More articles by this author Barry A. Kogan More articles by this author Expand All Advertisement PDF downloadLoading ...