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CompMatrix
Anesthesiology
A Decision Making Tool for Residency Selection
Jeffrey M. Taekman, M.D.
Bryan Andregg
Choosing residency is one of the most important decisions you
will ever make. Despite the importance of this task many individuals
rely on soft, subjective criteria to make their final decision.
Every program has its own strengths and weaknesses. How does one
know if a program is appropriately suited to their needs?
The CompMatrix is a decision making tool designed to objectify the process of
selecting a residency. The CompMatrix will allow you to:
- Choose, with confidence, the best residency for your needs
- Compare different programs taking into account both strengths
and weaknesses
- Streamline your interviewing process
In a nutshell, you will be asked to select and weight the factors
you consider important in choosing your residency. You will then
be asked to rate each program based on your chosen criteria. The
CompMatrix generates a table with an overall score for each program
that reflects the strengths and weaknesses of each program weighted
towards your own preferences.
The CompMatrix was developed by Jeffrey M. Taekman, M.D. and Bryan
Andregg at the Duke University Medical Center.
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Detailed Instructions
Establishing an Account
Your first task will be to set up a username and password.
This information as well as your weighting and ratings are completely anonymous.
The user name and password will be known only to you. WARNING: IF YOU FORGET
YOUR USERNAME OR PASSWORD, YOU WILL BE UNABLE TO RETRIEVE YOUR DATA. We
suggest you choose something meaningful and write down both username and
password in a safe location.
If this is your first time visiting the CompMatrix choose a username and
password and type them in the appropriate box. Click on the New Account
button and retype your password. Hit the submit button. If you tried to
choose a username that already exists in the system OR you did not type
the same information for your password each time, you will be prompted
to make a correction.
Choosing your Criteria
After establishing an account you'll be looking at the criteria selection
page. We have chosen close to 100 possible criteria that might go into
your decision when choosing a residency. You may choose as many or as few
criteria under each heading as you like. To select multiple criteria hold
the Ctrl key down and click on each criteria (Command key on a Macintosh).
Once you've selected your criteria hit the submit button. You will be
able to return to this page at a later time to add or subtract criteria
in the Matrix.
Choosing your Extremes
Individuals may prefer opposite extremes of a particular criteria. For
instance the factor Presence of Fellows . The two extremes would be yes
and no . Individuals may have different preferences. In this phase of the
set-up, the end-user is asked to define the extremes of each appropriate
criteria.
Click on the appropriate radio button for each criteria that has extremes.
If a criteria does not have an extreme, it will not show up on this page,
but will show up when you are rating programs.
When you are happy with your selection of extremes, hit the submit button.
Weighting your Criteria
The next phase of the CompMatrix is critical. In this step you are asked
to relatively weight your criteria. You are allocated 100 total points.
You must decide how important each factor is, and weight it appropriately.
For instance you might give School District 15 of the total 100 points
while giving Safety only 1 of the remaining 85 points.
Type the number of points you allocate to each factor in the corresponding
box. If you would like to know how many points you have distributed in
the middle of the process, hit the recalculate button to see your running
total. When you are done hit the submit button. If your points did not
add up to 100, your weights will be adjusted automatically to reach this
total.
You may return to this page at any time to change the weights associated
with any factor.
Rating the Programs
The next steps of the, matrix is to rate a particular program. From the
drop down menu choose the appropriate training program that you wish to
rate. Rate each factor for the program in question (1-least desirable,
10-most desirable). When you are satisfied with your ratings, hit the submit
button.
You should now be looking at a table with all of your criteria, weights,
as well as the ratings for a single residency program. Next to the program
is a score. This score is the sum of all weights (in percentages) times
ratings. The number represents the overall rating of the program, taking
into account both strengths and weaknesses, weighted toward your desires.
Congratulations. You have made your first entry into the CompMatrix!
If you would like to alter your ratings the program merely click on the
program's name in the CompMatrix Table. After making your ratings changes,
click the submit button to see your changes reflected in the table.
If you would like to rate another program press the rate programs button
at the bottom of the page. Your weights for each one of the criteria will
remain constant. Choose another program from the drop down menu and rate
each factor for this next residency program. When you are happy with your
ratings, hit the submit button. You should now see residency programs in
the CompMatrix sorted by overall score (highest to lowest).
You may select additional criteria or change the criteria weighting by
hitting the appropriate button at the bottom of the page
We hope you find this new tool useful. Please feel free to share this
free tool with all prospective anesthesiology residents.
Enjoy!
Sincerely,
Jeffrey M. Taekman, M.D.
Bryan Andregg
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