Howard University College of Medicine, Washington, DC.
Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA.
J Hand Surg Am. 2024 Mar;49(3):280.e1-280.e6. doi: 10.1016/j.jhsa.2022.07.009. Epub 2022 Sep 5.
The hand surgery fellowship match attracts applicants from general, plastic, and orthopedic surgery residency training. The purpose of this study was to understand recent trends in applications and match rates in the hand surgery fellowship match.
The National Resident Matching Program provided program and applicant data from the hand surgery fellowship match (2012-2020). The primary outcomes of interest were match rates and number of unfilled fellowship positions by specialty. Trends over time and comparisons of the percentage of unfilled spots by specialty were observed.
The total number of applicants decreased from 199 to 188 (5.5% decrease), while the number of available positions increased from 150 to 177 (18.0% increase) during the study period. The increase in available positions was driven primarily by orthopedic fellowships, which increased from 124 to 149 (20.2% increase). The percentage of applicants that did not match to a hand surgery fellowship decreased from 24.6% in 2012 to 5.9% in 2020. United States graduates had higher match rates than non-United States graduates during each year, but this disparity narrowed over time. Most applicants matched at one of their top 3 choices (first choice, 33.3%; second choice, 12.9%; third choice, 7.9%). Applicants matching at their first choice increased from 28.1% in 2012 to 39.4% in 2020. Plastic surgery hand surgery fellowships had a higher rate of unmatched positions relative to orthopedic surgery fellowships (6.1% vs 2.2%).
Match rates in the hand surgery fellowship match have increased because of an overall increase in training positions and decrease in applicants. More research is needed to understand disparities in match rates by specialty.
The diverse training experiences of hand surgeons historically have been viewed as a strength for the specialty. Understanding recent trends in the hand surgery fellowship match by specialty can help future applicants and faculty anticipate likely match outcomes.
手外科学专科医师培训项目吸引了来自普通外科、整形外科和骨科住院医师培训的申请者。本研究的目的是了解手外科学专科医师培训项目申请和匹配率的最新趋势。
全国住院医师匹配项目（National Resident Matching Program）提供了手外科学专科医师培训项目（2012-2020 年）的项目和申请人数据。主要观察指标为匹配率和各专业未填补的 fellowship 职位数量。观察了随时间的趋势和各专业未填补职位比例的比较。
在研究期间，申请人总数从 199 人减少到 188 人（减少 5.5%），而可用职位数量从 150 个增加到 177 个（增加 18.0%）。可用职位的增加主要是由于骨科 fellowship的增加，从 124 个增加到 149 个（增加 20.2%）。未能匹配到手外科学专科医师培训项目的申请人比例从 2012 年的 24.6%下降到 2020 年的 5.9%。美国毕业生在每年的匹配率都高于非美国毕业生，但这种差距随着时间的推移而缩小。大多数申请人在他们的前 3 个选择中匹配到了一个（第一选择，33.3%；第二选择，12.9%；第三选择，7.9%）。在第一选择匹配的申请人比例从 2012 年的 28.1%增加到 2020 年的 39.4%。与骨科 fellowship相比，整形外科手外科学 fellowship的未匹配职位比例更高（6.1%比 2.2%）。
由于培训职位的总体增加和申请人的减少，手外科学专科医师培训项目的匹配率有所提高。需要进一步研究以了解各专业匹配率的差异。
手外科医生多样化的培训经验一直被视为该专业的优势。了解各专业在手外科学专科医师培训项目中的最新趋势，可以帮助未来的申请者和教师预测可能的匹配结果。
