A national post-Match webinar panel improves knowledge and preparedness of medical students interested in vascular surgery training

Abstract

BackgroundThe current shortage of vascular surgeons is projected to worsen. Compared with other surgical residency programs, integrated vascular surgery residency (IVSR) offers fewer training positions and attracts fewer applicants. As a result, only a few medical students from each school match into the specialty, and conventional resources like Match panels are not available to students interested in vascular surgery. We hypothesize that a national post-Match panel webinar will improve medical students' knowledge of the IVSR application process. MethodsA panel of four recently matched medical students shared their experiences on their successful Match into an IVSR through a 65-minute-long national webinar. Data were collected from students who attended the webinar through anonymous online surveys before and after the panel discussion. The participants' self-reported understanding of the IVSR was assessed using a 5-point Likert scale for 11 questions. Objective knowledge of the IVSR Match process was assessed using five data-based questions. All prewebinar and postwebinar responses were paired and compared using bivariate analysis. ResultsA total of 76 participants completed both the prewebinar and postwebinar surveys. The majority of respondents were first-year medical students (51.3%) and attended medical school in the Northeast (38.2%). Among these respondents, 57.6% indicated that their home institution had an IVSR program, 44.7% had an active vascular surgery interest group (VSIG), 14.5% had previously attended a vascular surgery conference, and 28.9% were very likely to apply into an IVSR. After the webinar, more students correctly identified the number of currently existing IVSR training positions (76.3% vs 89.5%; P = .002), duration of IVSR (56.6% vs 85.5%; P < .001), and median Step 1 score (50% vs 84.2%; P < .001) and minimum number of applications (38.2% vs 65.8%; P < .001) recommended for a successful Match into IVSR. Students who had a VSIG at their home institution were found to have a better baseline knowledge of the IVSR based on their higher aggregate scores on the data-based questions (3.4 ± 1 vs 1.9 ± 1.2; P < .001) compared with those without one. ConclusionsA national webinar run by recently matched students can effectively improve medical students' understanding of the IVSR application process. Students with a VSIG at their institutions have a better baseline knowledge of IVSR. In addition to expanding the VSIG, instituting an annual national postmatch webinar may help students become better prepared applicants and improve the overall application pool.