General Surgery Versus Integrated Surgical Sub-specialties: Predictors for Residency Match and Interview Invites Among Surgical Candidates.

OBJECTIVE

The goal of this study was to assess predictive factors for receiving interviews and matching in general surgery (GS), cardiothoracic surgery (TS), vascular surgery (VS), and plastic surgery (PS).

DESIGN

The Texas Seeking Transparency in Applications to Residency (STAR) survey was analyzed for match years 2018-2023. Chi-Square Tests of Independence were used to assess differences among participants who received ≥16 vs <16 interviews and, separately, participants who matched vs went unmatched. Odds ratios (OR) for matching were adjusted for board scores, home region, publications, and honors in applicant specialty.

SETTING

All US medical schools participating in the Texas STAR survey from 2018-2023.

PARTICIPANTS

All fourth-year students who completed the survey during the study period.

RESULTS

Of the 2,687 individuals included, 78.15% applied in GS, 13.58% in PS, 4.43% in VS, and 3.82% in TS. Participants had higher odds of receiving ≥16 interviews when having >240 step 1 score vs ≤239 (OR 1.76 (95% CI 1.46-2.12); p < 0.001), >250 step 2 score vs ≤249 (2.42 (2.00-2.91); p < 0.001), honors in their specialty (1.48 (1.21-1.80); p < 0.001), and >5 publications vs ≤4 (1.46 (1.16-1.83); p = 0.001). Odds of matching were lower among PS (0.50 (0.36-0.69); p < 0.001) and TS (0.2 (0.13-0.31); <0.001) compared to GS applicants. Participants had higher odds of matching when having >240 step 1 score vs ≤239 (1.33 (1.04-1.70); p = 0.026), >250 step 2 score vs ≤249 (1.52 (1.20-1.92); p < 0.001), and were more likely to match at a program where they indicated a geographic preference (5.49 (2.58-11.66); p < 0.0001) or program signal (3.87 (1.85-8.11); p < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

The novel geographic preferencing and program signal functions were associated with increased match success. More studies are needed to assess the generalizability of these findings.