Identifying Attitudes Toward and Acceptance of Osteopathic Graduates in Surgical Residency Programs in the Era of Single Accreditation: Results of the American College of Osteopathic Surgeons Medical Student Section Questionnaire of Program Directors.

Matthew A Heard,Bracken Burns,Kristen Conrad-Schnetz,Sara E Buckley

doi:10.7759/cureus.22870

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this study was to quantify the number of surgical programs currently training osteopathic residents and to solicit advice for current osteopathic medical students who are interested in pursuing a surgical residency. MethodsA questionnaire was sent to all listed Electronic Residency Application Service® (ERAS®) email contacts for the following specialties: General Surgery, Neurological Surgery, Orthopedic Surgery, Otolaryngology, Urology, Integrated Vascular Surgery, Integrated Plastic Surgery, and Integrated Thoracic Surgery. The questionnaire was sent a total of three times.ResultsTwo hundred sixty-four of the 1,040 surgical residency programs responded to the questionnaire. Of these responses, 19% were formerly American Osteopathic Association (AOA) accredited programs. About 47.3% of responding programs indicated they are not currently training an osteopathic physician. One hundred thirteen programs provided additional comments on how osteopathic medical students may improve the competitiveness of their residency applications. These comments included increasing volumes of research activities, performing well on the United States Medical Licensing Exam (USMLE), and completing a sub-internship in the desired field or at a specific institution. ConclusionOsteopathic students still face many barriers to matching into surgical residencies. This study provides concrete steps students may take to increase the competitiveness of their application.

Highlights

As osteopathic medical schools have expanded, osteopathic medical students make up greater than twenty-five percent of all matriculating medical students, naturally leading to an increase in osteopathic applicants to competitive residency programs [1]
A questionnaire was sent to all listed Electronic Residency Application Service® (ERAS®) email contacts for the following specialties: General Surgery, Neurological Surgery, Orthopedic Surgery, Otolaryngology, Urology, Integrated Vascular Surgery, Integrated Plastic Surgery, and Integrated Thoracic Surgery
In October 2020, as a part of the American College of Osteopathic Surgeons (ACOS) Strategic Planning efforts, the ACOS Medical Student Section sent a questionnaire to the listed email contact for each surgical residency program in the Electronic Residency Application Service® (ERAS®)

Summary

Introduction

As osteopathic medical schools have expanded, osteopathic medical students make up greater than twenty-five percent of all matriculating medical students, naturally leading to an increase in osteopathic applicants to competitive residency programs [1]. Despite the increase in applicant numbers, osteopathic medical students do not match into surgical specialties at the same rate as their allopathic counterparts, most recently evidenced in the 2021 National Residency Match Program (NRMP) match results [2,3]. Beckman and Speicher noted in a 2020 article that surgical specialties are the least likely to train osteopathic physicians [4]. It is important to note that the year 2020 marked the first year where all applicants to post-graduate medical and surgical training participated in a single match process. Osteopathic graduates had the option of participating in either the NRMP or the American Osteopathic Association (AOA) match. It is unclear what the effects will be on osteopathic physicians applying for and matching into

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