Department of Neurological Surgery, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA; Northwestern Medicine Lou & Jean Malnati Brain Tumor Institute of the Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA; Faculty of Medicine, American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon.
Faculty of Medicine, American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon; Department of Neurological Surgery, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA.
World Neurosurg. 2024 Sep;189:e476-e484. doi: 10.1016/j.wneu.2024.06.088. Epub 2024 Jun 19.
Neurosurgery is one of the most competitive specialties, and navigating the match process is often challenging for aspiring applicants. Here, we analyze insights from the National Resident Matching Program Director Surveys, illustrating evolving trends in applicant selection for interviews and for the ranking process, and providing a comparison with other specialties.
We evaluated 7 surveys administered from 2012 to 2022. Six biennial surveys reported on factors influencing interview and ranking processes, while all 7 surveys included data about the program director (PD)'s attitude toward United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) test scores.
The response rate of PDs decreased over the years. The most cited factor for interviews included specialty-specific recommendation letters (95%), USMLE Step 1 scores (91%), and interest in research (78%). A recent decline in emphasis on USMLE Step 1 scores coincided with a growing reliance on USMLE Step 2 scores. Award in basic science held significant esteem to a subset of programs. Personal characteristics dominated for ranking, with faculty interaction (89%), interpersonal skills (89%), and house staff interaction (85%) being the most important. Yet, PDs reported a difficulty in assessing interpersonal skills through virtual interviews.
Our analysis revealed the pervasive importance of specialized endorsements and academic achievements when screening applicants for the interview process. A shift in emphasis toward the USMLE Step 2 became apparent. Personal characteristics, on the other hand, seemed crucial to make a match and rank high among the pool of interviewed applicants. We uncovered difficulties in assessing these characteristics through virtual interviews.
神经外科学是竞争最激烈的专业之一，对于有抱负的申请者来说，驾驭匹配过程往往具有挑战性。在这里，我们分析了国家住院医师匹配计划主任调查的见解，说明了在面试和排名过程中申请人选择的演变趋势，并与其他专业进行了比较。
我们评估了 2012 年至 2022 年期间进行的 7 项调查。6 项两年一次的调查报告了影响面试和排名过程的因素，而所有 7 项调查都包括了项目主任（PD）对美国医师执照考试（USMLE）分数的态度数据。
PD 的回复率多年来一直在下降。面试中最常被引用的因素包括专业推荐信（95%）、USMLE 步骤 1 成绩（91%）和对研究的兴趣（78%）。最近对 USMLE 步骤 1 成绩的重视程度下降与对 USMLE 步骤 2 成绩的依赖程度增加同时发生。基础科学奖对一部分项目具有重要意义。个人特征在排名中占主导地位，与教员互动（89%）、人际交往能力（89%）和住院医师互动（85%）是最重要的。然而，PD 报告说，通过虚拟面试评估人际交往能力存在困难。
我们的分析表明，在筛选面试申请人时，专门的推荐和学术成就具有普遍重要性。对 USMLE 步骤 2 的重视程度明显发生了转变。另一方面，个人特征对于达成匹配并在面试申请人中排名靠前似乎至关重要。我们发现，通过虚拟面试评估这些特征存在困难。
