BACKGROUND: Graduate Medical Education programs have implemented holistic review to improve the selection process for new residents. Holistic review will have a profound effect on Health Information Professionals (HIPs) with the arrival of medical residents with different backgrounds and needs. The unique experiences and skills of HIPs will position them well for the new realities in medical residency programs. This article traces the historic roots of holistic review. METHODS: The authors employed a scoping review to track the historical traces of holistic review in Graduate Medical Education over the formative period of 1999-2019. RESULTS: Medical residency programs over a 20-year period piloted holistic review in the screening, interview, and multiple time periods in the selection process. These ventures reflected a diversity of approaches and creative adaptations from other disciplines such as personnel management, organizational psychology, and active learning forms of education. CONCLUSION: Health information professionals and medical educators will better engage with the newer cohorts of residents when equipped with a history of holistic review.