Abstract
<h3>INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES</h3> Integrated vascular surgery residency (0+5) programs have increased in popularity and offer an accelerated track compared to the traditional fellowship pathway. We sought to create a simple metric for medical students to better assess the competitiveness of 0+5 training programs compared to general surgery (GS) programs. <h3>METHODS</h3> GS and 0+5 programs were compared using National Resident Matching Program match data from 2011-2021. Applicant metrics (board scores, research output and experiences, work experiences, and volunteer experiences) from 2015-2019 were obtained using the Association of American Medical Colleges Report on Residents. A normalized competitive index (NCI) was created (number of programs ranked per applicant divided by match rate) for each specialty and normalized to a value of 1 to improve longitudinal comparisons. NCI and number ranked per applicant were plotted across time and a linear regression was performed to evaluate a ten-year trend. <h3>RESULTS</h3> The match rate of both specialties was 62% and was similar for GS and 0+5 programs. The number of programs ranked per applicant was higher in 0+5 compared to GS (9.36 vs. 7.66, <i>P</i><0.001). NCI was higher for 0+5 compared to GS (1.14 vs. 0.903, <i>P</i><0.001). Applicant metrics were similar between groups except for research output, which was higher in 0+5 applicants (6.2 vs. 3.8, <i>P</i>=0.034). The linear regression revealed increasing NCI and number ranked per applicant across time for 0+5 programs compared to GS with all R<sup>2</sup>>0.61 (<i>P</i><0.001). <h3>CONCLUSIONS</h3> Matching in vascular 0+5 programs is increasingly competitive. The NCI was approximately 25% higher for 0+5 programs compared to GS programs despite similar match rates. As 0+5 programs continues to evolve, NCI may be a more useful metric for applicants.
Published Version
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