Abstract
IntroductionOur objective is to evaluate the factors important to osteopathic applicants when selecting an American College of Osteopathic Emergency Physicians accredited emergency medicine (EM) residency and to compare these results with previous allopathic EM studies.MethodsWe gave osteopathic applicants a survey during interview season to be filled out anonymously at the end of their interview day. This survey included 18 factors which the applicants were asked to rank between 1 (“not very important”) to 4 (“very important”). We then compared results to prior results of the same survey.ResultsForty applicants (67%) out of 60 completed the survey. From these individuals, we noticed differences in the top factors listed by the applicants when compared to allopathic interviewees, the most notable being the unimportance of geographic location of the program to osteopathic applicants as manifested by osteopathic student average score of 2.8 (standard deviation 0.75) verses allopathic student average of 3.6 (standard deviation 0.06).ConclusionOf the top 5 factors listed by the applicants, only 1 (AOA-approved residency) is an objective factor that the program has a role in controlling. The remainder are mainly subjective factors based on applicant’s perceptions of the program.
Highlights
Our objective is to evaluate the factors important to osteopathic applicants when selecting an American College of Osteopathic Emergency Physicians accredited emergency medicine (EM) residency and to compare these results with previous allopathic EM studies
We noticed differences in the top factors listed by the applicants when compared to allopathic interviewees, the most notable being the unimportance of geographic location of the program to osteopathic applicants as manifested by osteopathic student average score of 2.8 verses allopathic student average of 3.6
The factors affecting the DO students’ choice of residency are not clear. Such knowledge may be helpful in the process of designing new and existing EM programs and would provide useful knowledge to program directors
Summary
Our objective is to evaluate the factors important to osteopathic applicants when selecting an American College of Osteopathic Emergency Physicians accredited emergency medicine (EM) residency and to compare these results with previous allopathic EM studies. Individuals graduating from medical school are increasingly choosing emergency medicine (EM) as the choice of residency.[1] Previously DeSantis and Marco concluded that the top 5 factors important to students when choosing a preferred residency program include friendliness, environment, interview experience, academics, and location,[2]. Other studies have asked similar questions of students going through the allopathic (MD) match process.[4,5]. The factors affecting the DO students’ choice of residency are not clear. Such knowledge may be helpful in the process of designing new and existing EM programs and would provide useful knowledge to program directors. There have been no studies that explore this topic
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