Rodriguez Stephanie, Sedani Anika, Patel Nisarg, Mukherjee Rupak, Wooster Mathew, Veeraswamy Ravikumar, Tanious Adam
Department of Surgery, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC.
College of Medicine, Nova Southeastern University, Fort Lauderdale, FL.
Ann Vasc Surg. 2024 Dec;109:382-395. doi: 10.1016/j.avsg.2024.05.030. Epub 2024 Jul 15.
Letters of recommendation (LOR) are considered by program directors (PDs) to be an integral part of the residency application. With the conversion of United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) Step 1 to a binary pass/fail outcome, LORs will likely have higher important in the application process moving forward. However, their utility in securing an interview for a particular applicant remains undetermined. This study aims to identify the applicant and LOR characteristics associated with an interview invitation.
Letter writer (n = 977) characteristics were abstracted from applications (n = 264) to an individual integrated vascular surgery residency program over 2 application cycles. A validated text analysis program, Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count, was used to characterize LOR content. Applicant, letter writer, and LOR characteristics associated with an interview invitation were determined using multivariable analysis.
Letter writers were 70.9% vascular surgeons (VS), 23.7% PDs, and 45.4% professors. Applicants offered an interview were more likely to come from a top 50 medical school (35.2% vs 25.8%, P = 0.013) and an institution with a home vascular program (45.5% vs 34.1%, P = 0.006). Alpha Omega Alpha membership was significantly associated with interview offer (28.4%, P < 0.001). A greater proportion of letters from VS was associated with an interview offer (P < 0.001) compared with letter writers of other specialties. One or more PD letters were significantly associated with an interview offer (79.55% vs 20.45%, P = 0.008), whereas number of letters from APDs was not significantly associated with interview offer. Letters written by away institution faculty were significantly associated with interview offer (75%, P < 0.001), whereas nonclinical letters were not. Presence of one or more letters from a chair (57.95% vs 42.05%, P = 0.015) or chief (67.05% vs 32.95%, P = 0.028) was significantly associated with interview offer. Letters for applicants offered an interview had more references to research and teaching, which were more common in letters written by versus Letters written by PDs were more likely to use assertive, advertising language in favor of applicants. There were no significant applicant, letter writer, or LOR characteristics associated with a top 20 rank.
Successful applicants were more likely to have LORs written by VS, PDs, and those of higher academic rank with references to research and teaching.
推荐信（LOR）被项目主任（PD）视为住院医师申请的一个重要组成部分。随着美国医师执照考试（USMLE）第一步转变为二元通过/未通过结果，推荐信在未来的申请过程中可能会变得更加重要。然而，它们对特定申请人获得面试机会的效用仍未确定。本研究旨在确定与面试邀请相关的申请人和推荐信特征。
从两个申请周期内申请一个独立的血管外科住院医师项目的264份申请中提取977位推荐人的特征。使用经过验证的文本分析程序“语言查询与字数统计”来描述推荐信的内容。使用多变量分析确定与面试邀请相关的申请人、推荐人和推荐信特征。
推荐人中有70.9%是血管外科医生（VS），23.7%是项目主任，45.4%是教授。获得面试机会的申请人更有可能来自排名前50的医学院（35.2%对25.8%，P = 0.013）以及设有血管专科项目的机构（45.5%对34.1%，P = 0.006）。入选美国医学荣誉协会（Alpha Omega Alpha）与获得面试邀请显著相关（28.4%，P < 0.001）。与其他专科的推荐人相比，血管外科医生撰写的推荐信中获得面试邀请的比例更高（P < 0.001）。一封或多封由项目主任撰写的推荐信与获得面试邀请显著相关（79.55%对20.45%，P = 0.008），而助理项目主任撰写的推荐信数量与获得面试邀请无显著相关性。外单位教员撰写的推荐信与获得面试邀请显著相关（75%，P < 0.001），而非临床推荐信则不然。有一封或多封来自系主任（57.95%对42.05%，P = 0.015）或主任（67.05%对32.95%，P = 0.028）的推荐信与获得面试邀请显著相关。获得面试邀请的申请人的推荐信更多提及研究和教学，这在血管外科医生撰写的推荐信中更为常见，而项目主任撰写的推荐信更有可能使用肯定性、推荐性的语言来支持申请人。没有与排名前20相关的显著的申请人、推荐人或推荐信特征。
成功的申请人更有可能收到血管外科医生、项目主任以及学术级别较高者撰写的提及研究和教学的推荐信。
