P98. HOME SWEET HOME: THE INTEGRATED PLASTIC SURGERY RESIDENCY MATCH DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

Abstract

PURPOSE: We aimed to assess if the 2021 plastic surgery match cycle and its outcomes related to home matching differed from previous years. METHODS: We reviewed publicly available match data from ERAS-participating integrated US plastic surgery residencies between 2018 and 2021. Information was collected on residents’ medical school affiliation for US medical graduates or most recent clinical or research affiliation for international medical graduates (total, n=73). RESULTS: Results revealed a statistically significant (t-test, p=0.0002) increase in the proportion of home matches in 2021 as compared to the aggregated three previous matches [2018-2020]. Specifically, our data shows applicants in the 2021 match were 2.24-times more likely to match at their home institutions than in previous years (CI:1.32-3.8, p=0.0027). CONCLUSION: This suggests corroborative information supporting recent literature citing that applicants were less comfortable ranking unfamiliar programs after virtual interviews. Applicants were perhaps more likely to hedge their bets by “up-ranking” their home institution which they were presumably more familiar with. If correct, understanding what this means for applicants at schools without plastic surgery residencies becomes ever-more important. With the possibility of hybrid interview models, it is important to determine whether in-person interviews, if offered, plays an advantageous role over virtual ones.