Does participation in the electronic residency application service (ERAS) affect the quality of applications to a residency program?

Abstract

To determine whether the quality of applicants to an emergency medicine (EM) residency would improve during a year that the program did not participate in the Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS). Applications to the Denver Health Medical Center Residency in Emergency Medicine (DHMCREM) were retrospectively compared for three consecutive years: 1996-97, during which ERAS was not available to EM programs; 1997-98, during which DHMCREM did not participate in ERAS; and 1998-99, during which DHMCREM participated in ERAS. The quality of applicants was based on their application scores, which were determined using a 20-point equation that rated individual attributes: U.S. Medical Licensing Examination Step 1 score, medical school, research, extracurricular activities, personal statement, letters of recommendation, and dean's letter. T-tests were used to compare application scores and individual attributes among applicants, those invited for an interview, and those who matched to the program. In addition, numbers of applications to the DHMCREM were compared with national trends. A total of 1,318 complete applications were reviewed for the three-year study period. There was a 50% reduction in applications during 1997-98 when DHMCREM did not participate in ERAS, which did not correlate with the national trend in applications to residency programs. However, there was no statistically significant difference in the quality of applicants, interviewees, or matched candidates as defined by the overall application score. In addition, applicants who matched to the program were higher on the rank-order list during the 1997-98 application year than were applicants who matched for the year prior to ERAS and for the year DHMCREM participated in ERAS. Participation in ERAS increased the number of applicants, but did not correlate with an increase in the quality of applicants.