Table 2. Survey respondents ratings of characteristics that are critically important for applicants to possess in order to become successful residents.

	PGY1 programs (n = 313)		PGY2 programs (n = 196)
Characteristics	n	%	n	%	P
Subjective characteristics
Professionalism	212	73.6	111	72.1	.729
Dependability	210	72.9	121	78.6	.191
Self-motivation/initiative	201	69.8	110	71.4	.720
Work ethic	201	69.8	116	75.3	.218
Clinical knowledge and skills	196	68.1	120	77.9	.029
Reliability	193	67	115	74.7	.095
Positive attitude	191	66.3	98	63.6	.572
Dedication	185	64.2	107	69.5	.267
Critical thinking	168	58.3	123	79.9	.001
Interpersonal skills	162	56.3	84	54.5	.731
Time management	162	56.3	88	57.1	.857
Team player	155	53.8	98	63.6	.047
Organization skills	136	47.2	71	46.1	.822
Independence	105	36.5	74	48.1	.018
Compassion	64	55.7	51	44.3	.013
Confidence	52	18.1	48	31.2	.002
Leadership	40	13.9	30	19.5	.125
Assertiveness	35	12.2	27	17.59	.121
Innovative	27	9.4	15	7	1.00
Communication skills	3	1	0	0	.555
Objective characteristics
Obtaining a clinical position	99	34.4	66	42.9	.079
Achieving board certification	24	8.3	38	24.7	.001
Obtaining a PGY2 position	22	7.7	N/A	N/A	N/A
Publishing a manuscript	15	5.2	20	13	.005
Obtaining a teaching position	11	3.8	14	9.2	.029
Holding a leadership role on a National committee	6	2.1	3	2	1.00
Obtaining a fellowship	4	1.4	0	0	.303
Receiving a grant	2	0.7	0	0	.545
Obtaining a research position	1	0.3	1	0.7	1.00

Note: N/A = not applicable; PGY = postgraduate year. Likert responses were categorized as critical or not and analyzed using the chi-square test or Fisher’s exact test. Levels of significance were tested at P < .05.