George Robert E, Bay Caroline C, Thornton Sarah M, Zhong Tammy, Feeley Lauren P, Schappe Alyssa M, Dingle Aaron M, Poore Samuel O
From the Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Department of Surgery, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health-Madison, Madison, Wis.
Plast Reconstr Surg Glob Open. 2024 Jul 5;12(7):e5955. doi: 10.1097/GOX.0000000000005955. eCollection 2024 Jul.
Plastic and reconstructive surgery is one of the most competitive residency programs, and given the increased number of applicants for a relatively fixed number of positions, successfully matching is a challenge. Match rates have declined since 2018, with a match rate of ~55% in 2022. Two common options before reapplying are a preliminary year of residency (preliminary year) or a research fellowship. This study investigated which option is more beneficial for reapplicants seeking a successful match.
This retrospective study included all applicants to an integrated plastic and reconstructive surgery residency from 2015 to 2023. Two cohorts based on reapplication strategy (research fellowship or preliminary year) were created. Demographic, applicant, and match data were collected. Pearson chi-squared, Fisher exact, and Wilcoxon rank sum testing were performed.
In total, 125 reapplicants were included. Seventy-one (56.8%) reapplicants pursued a preliminary year, and 29 (23.2%) completed a research fellowship. Research fellowship reapplicants had a greater mean number of first author publications (8.8 versus 3.2, < 0.001), non-first author publications (11.3 versus 5.9, = 0.021), poster presentations (9.7 versus 6.0, = 0.028), and oral presentations (11.8 versus 6.4, < 0.001). Research fellowship reapplicants were more likely to match into plastic and reconstructive surgery (PRS) than preliminary year reapplicants, with 72.4% (n = 21) of research fellowship reapplicants matching into PRS compared with 39.4% (n = 28) of preliminary year reapplicants ( = 0.003).
Research fellowship reapplicants demonstrated greater research productivity and were almost twice as likely to match into PRS compared with preliminary reapplicants.
整形与重建外科是竞争最为激烈的住院医师培训项目之一，鉴于申请人数相对固定但数量不断增加，成功匹配是一项挑战。自2018年以来匹配率有所下降，2022年的匹配率约为55%。重新申请前的两个常见选择是住院医师培训的预备年（预备年）或研究奖学金。本研究调查了哪种选择对寻求成功匹配的重新申请者更有益。
这项回顾性研究纳入了2015年至2023年申请综合整形与重建外科住院医师培训的所有申请者。根据重新申请策略（研究奖学金或预备年）创建了两个队列。收集了人口统计学、申请者和匹配数据。进行了Pearson卡方检验、Fisher精确检验和Wilcoxon秩和检验。
总共纳入了125名重新申请者。71名（56.8%）重新申请者选择了预备年，29名（23.2%）完成了研究奖学金。申请研究奖学金的重新申请者的第一作者发表文章的平均数量更多（8.8篇对3.2篇，<0.001），非第一作者发表文章的数量更多（11.3篇对5.9篇，=0.021），海报展示更多（9.7次对6.0次，=0.028），口头报告更多（11.8次对6.4次，<0.001）。申请研究奖学金的重新申请者比选择预备年的重新申请者更有可能匹配到整形与重建外科（PRS），72.4%（n=21）的申请研究奖学金的重新申请者匹配到PRS，而选择预备年的重新申请者为39.4%（n=28）（=0.003）。
与选择预备年的重新申请者相比，申请研究奖学金的重新申请者表现出更高的研究生产力，并且匹配到PRS的可能性几乎是其两倍。
