Program director's role

[fizzle]

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What exactly is the role of the program director for a residency program on selecting who to rank/interview? I understand that they probably determine the structure and format of the interview day, make the presentations, and develop and submit the final rank list. But what role do they play in the decision-making of which applicants to rank where? Is a program director's vote for or against an applicant weighted more heavily than other interviewers' votes, or is his/her say equal to other interviewers but just with the added responsibility of creating the rank list?

I guess my big question is, does the interview with the program director take on any special significance over interviews with any other attendings? I have no idea what to make of the special significance that the title of program director has among all other attendings.

 

[Winged Scapula]

This will vary by program to program.

I can tell you that my program the rank order list was finalized by the program director and department chair. They absolutely had the power to re- organize the rank list to some extent.

It was said that was the reason why many of the female residents looked alike.

 

[BADMD]

At our shop the PD has the final call. Everyone else has input and the process is collaborative, but the PD is the final decision maker.

 

[gutonc]

Don't get worked up about the "I didn't interview with the PD, that means they don't want me" thing. While it's true that the PD has the final say (s/he is the one that gets the login info for NRMP R3 and, unless they share it with someone, they are solely responsible for the final rank list), outside of the smallest programs (1-3 residents/yr), they just can't interview everybody, and they will take the opinions of their colleagues to heart when it comes time to ranking.

I can only comment on my (fellowship) program but in that particular case, applicants who the PD loved/hated were moved up and down on the list based on the group consensus, not the PD's whim. Sometimes it went the same way, sometimes it didn't. But, if the PD wanted to nuke an applicant, they got nuked. But that went for everyone else on the committee as well. Out of the 40 or so people we interviewed for our 3 spots, only 2 got nuked (not ranked). Neither of those were on the PD's recommendation.

The title of PD has a lot of significance but in the end, it's just a job. The vast majority of PDs aren't malicious. They want what's best for their program.