pyramid system

pyramid

GRADUATE EDUCATION

Definition A system used in prestigious US teaching hospitals to limit the number of specialist physicians who graduate from highly-selective residency/training programs, by accepting more trainees in early years and graduating few.  

*E.g., neurosurgery, by having more positions in the 1st years of training, analogous to the base of a pyramid, than in the final years

Whilst the system places considerable stress on the resident, it ensures that only the best candidates graduate from such programs.