Residency Application Cycle Research Articles

AAMC Guidance on Interviewing for the 2022-2023 Residency Application Cycle: Orthopaedic Program Director Perspectives.

A 19-question multicenter, cross-sectional research survey was emailed to 98 PDs (38.8% response rate) through Qualtrics XM. Contact information was obtained from a public national database. Most orthopaedic residency programs (60.5%) were planning on conducting in-person interviews before any AAMC and hospital guidelines, and most (65.8%) will likely be conducting virtual interviews post-guidelines. PDs voiced mixed opinions about virtual interviews (39.4% in favor vs. 47.4% against). PDs were also split on whether forgoing the AAMC guidance would be irresponsible for residency programs (47.4% believe it would be irresponsible vs. 44.8% believe it would not); however, a plurality are in favor of the AAMC's guidance (42.1%). Furthermore, PDs agreed that virtual interviews have disadvantages including favoring top-tier applicants, students from home institutions, and in-person rotators, making ranking applicants and learning about a program's culture more difficult. Most PDs (84.2%) felt that hybrid interviews would disadvantage applicants who would choose the virtual option. AAMC guidance seems to be influencing how most orthopaedic surgery programs will conduct residency interviews for the 2022-2023 cycle. Most PDs agreed with the AAMC guidelines but voiced concerns regarding several disadvantages for all 3 proposed interview options (virtual, in-person, and hybrid). Our results indicate that the recent AAMC guidelines may have contributed to a shift in opinions among PDs but are not sufficient to create a consensus on the best practices for residency interviews. Our findings should encourage solutions focused on the deeper systemic issues within the orthopaedic application process in the post-coronavirus 2019 pandemic era.

Selecting the Next Class: The "Virtual Orthopaedic Rotation".

Introduction:When the COVID-19 pandemic forced the cancellation of visiting subinternships, we pivoted to create a virtual orthopaedic rotation (VOR). The purpose of this study was to assess the effect of the VOR on the residency selection process and determine the role of such a rotation in the future.Methods:A committee was convened to create a VOR to replace visiting orthopaedic rotations for medical students who are interested in pursuing a career in orthopaedic surgery. The VOR was reviewed and sanctioned by our medical school, but no academic credit was granted. We conducted three 3-week VOR sessions. During each session, virtual rotators participated in regularly scheduled educational conferences and attended an invitation-only daily conference in the evenings that was designed for a medical student audience. In addition, students were paired with faculty and resident mentors in a structured mentorship program. Students' orthopaedic knowledge was assessed using prerotation and postrotation tests.Results:From July to September 2020, 61 students from 37 distinct medical schools participated in the VOR. Notable improvements were observed in prerotation and postrotation orthopaedic knowledge test scores. In postrotation surveys, both students and faculty expressed high satisfaction with the curriculum but less certainty about how well they got to know each other. In the subsequent residency application cycle, 27.9% of the students who participated in the VOR were selected to interview, compared with 8.7% of the total application pool.Discussion:The VOR was a valuable substitute for in-person clinical rotations during the COVID-19 pandemic. Although not likely to be a replacement for conventional away rotations, the VOR is a possible adjunct to in-person clinical rotations in the future.

#UroSoMe

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of COVID-19 on the urology residency application cycle on social media engagement and account creation by urology residency programs and applicants. Materials and Methods: A list of accredited urology residency programs was taken from the Electronic Residency Application Service, excluding military-sponsored programs. Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook accounts of programs and applicants were then identified through Google and individual platform searches. Results: One hundred and nineteen out of 140 urology programs had Twitter accounts, with 29 created in 2020. Urology program Instagram accounts had the largest growth rate in 2020 of 227.8%. Almost all urology programs that had Instagram or Facebook accounts also had a Twitter account. Urology programs promoted a total of 277 virtual events on Twitter, 83 on Instagram, and 48 on Facebook. Sixteen subinternships were promoted on Twitter, two on Instagram, and two on Facebook. In the 2021 match, 136 of the 237 matched applicants on Twitter made their accounts in the year leading up to the match and 42 of the 162 matched applicants on Twitter created their Twitter accounts during the 2019 cycle. Conclusion: The number of urology programs on Twitter and Instagram increased in 2020 at a faster rate than previous years. Many programs used their accounts to promote virtual events and subinternships. Applicants who matched in 2021 made Twitter accounts during their application year at a higher rate than the previous application cycle. During the COVID-19 pandemic, urology programs and applicants utilized social media, especially Twitter, to engage and learn about each other.

Implementation and Evaluation of a Formal Virtual Medical Student Away Rotation in Orthopaedic Surgery During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Category:OtherIntroduction/Purpose:Away rotations are a valuable experience for medical students when applying for residency. However, in light of the ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, traditional in-person away rotations were largely suspended during the 2020-2021 residency application cycle. As such, there has been significant interest in the development of virtually-based substitutes. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the utility of a formal virtual fourth year medical student away rotation in orthopaedic surgery by surveying student, resident, and faculty participants.Methods:A two-week virtual orthopaedic elective was offered to fourth-year medical students from outside institutions in lieu of a traditional in-person away rotation. The course was conducted via online video conferencing and consisted of multiple components including nightly subspecialty case-based didactics, weekly social events with residents, assigned resident mentors, student case presentations, and the ability to attend the residency's daily conferences. Following course completion, anonymous surveys were administered to students as well as resident and faculty participants to evaluate the rotation. 23 of 24 participating students (96%) completed the student survey and 22 of 24 participating faculty and residents (82%) completed the resident/faculty survey.Results:Most students were very (87%) or somewhat satisfied (9%) with their experience and found the virtual rotation to be a very (35%) or somewhat useful (61%) substitute for in-person rotations. Students indicated the virtual rotation very (91%) or somewhat positively (9%) influenced their perception of the residency. All students indicated the rotation was very educational. Most students (91%) reported the rotation was very useful for learning about the program and culture, with the subspecialty didactics and happy hours being the most useful. Faculty and residents indicated the virtual rotation was useful for getting to know the students, with resident mentoring and case presentations most useful. Faculty and residents reported the rotation was useful for assessing student characteristics such as knowledge base and interpersonal communication skills. Students' qualitative responses highlighted the small group size, educational value, quality of interactions with residents/faculty, and opportunities for participation as positive features of the rotation.Conclusion:A well organized, formal virtual orthopaedic surgery away rotation can be a valuable experience for medical students that provides educational value, insight into a program's culture, and an opportunity to demonstrate interest in the program. Virtual rotations can also be useful tool for residencies to share information about their program and learn more about prospective applicants. Features such as dedicated subspecialty case-based didactics, resident social events and mentoring, student case presentations, and small group formats are recommended to maximize value.

Disruptive Innovations: Uncertainty, a Pandemic, and the Residency Application Cycle

I expected uncertainty heading into my fourth year of medical school and the residency match. I was an allopathic student at a newly established for-profit medical school that had no associated medical center. Like many students, a route to a successful residency match rested on a lynchpin experience—the successful completion of a visiting sub-internship, a 1-mo clinical experience at an outside institution. This pivotal experience enriches a student's education and yields an opportunity to secure a letter of recommendation (LOR), the metaphorical “foot in the door” for a residency interview.

Virtual Recruitment: Experiences and Perspectives of Internal Medicine Program Directors

Virtual Recruitment: Experiences and Perspectives of Internal Medicine Program Directors

Impacts of COVID‐19 on orthopaedic surgery residency / spine trainee application trends

BackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic has had widespread impact across medical educational sectors, including cancellations and delays of board exams, interruptions in clinical rotations and electives, altered processes for away rotations, and conversion to virtual interviews. These changes, combined with applicant and program uncertainty, may affect the 2021 residency application cycle for competitive fields such as orthopaedic surgery. In consideration of spine trainees and the spine fellow application pipeline, the current study aims to evaluate for deviations in trends found in applications to an orthopaedic surgery residency program from the 2021 cycle compared to six years prior. MethodsAfter institutional review board approval, applications to a single orthopaedic surgery residency program from application cycles 2015 to 2021 were evaluated in the Electronic Residency Application System (ERAS) and analyzed for trends. Supplementary information was taken from publicly available ERAS statistics. ResultsCompared to existing trends, the ERAS 2021 cycle had a greater number of applicants, more research items, and lower rates of USMLE Step 2 test administration. Of the 4,965 applications analyzed, no deviations in trends were found in number of female applicants, Black and Hispanic applicants, applicants from medical schools outside the US, DO applicants, applicants with interruptions in their training, or USMLE scores. ConclusionsThe orthopaedic surgery applicant pool increased amidst the COVID-19 pandemic and applicants had more research items than previous years. No significant deviations in the demographics of the applicant pool were noted. This is thought to be reassuring about the integrity of the orthopaedic residency application process / spine fellow application pipeline and should continue to be observed in the coming years.

Implicit Bias and the Association of Redaction of Identifiers With Residency Application Screening Scores

Diversity in the ophthalmology profession is important when providing care for an increasingly diverse patient population. However, implicit bias may inadvertently disadvantage underrepresented applicants during resident recruitment and selection. To evaluate the association of the redaction of applicant identifiers with the review scores on ophthalmology residency applications as an intervention to address implicit bias. In this quality improvement study, 46 faculty members reviewed randomized sets of 462 redacted and unredacted applications from a single academic institution during the 2019-2020 ophthalmology residency application cycle. Applications electronically redacted for applicant identifiers, including name, sex or gender, race and ethnicity, and related terms. The main outcome was the distribution of scores on redacted and unredacted applications, stratified by applicant's sex, underrepresentation in medicine (URiM; traditionally comprising American Indian or Alaskan Native, Black, and Hispanic individuals) status, and international medical graduate (IMG) status; the application score β coefficients for redaction and the applicant and reviewer characteristics were calculated. Applications were scored on a scale of 1 to 9, where 1 was the best score and 9 was the worst score. Scores were evaluated for a significant difference based on redaction among female, URiM, and IMG applicants. Linear regression was used to evaluate the adjusted association of redaction, self-reported applicant characteristics, and reviewer characteristics with scores on ophthalmology residency applications. In this study, 277 applicants (60.0%) were male and 71 (15.4%) had URiM status; 32 faculty reviewers (69.6%) were male and 2 (0.4%) had URiM status. The distribution of scores was similar for redacted vs unredacted applications, with no difference based on sex, URiM status, or IMG status. Applicant's sex, URiM status, and IMG status had no association with scores in multivariable analysis (sex, β = -0.08; 95% CI, -0.32 to 0.15; P = .26; URiM status, β = -0.03; (95% CI, -0.36 to 0.30; P = .94; and IMG status, β = 0.39; 95% CI, -0.24 to 1.02; P = .35). In adjusted regression, redaction was not associated with differences in scores (β = -0.06 points on a 1-9 scale; 95% CI, -0.22 to 0.10 points; P = .48). Factors most associated with better scores were attending a top 20 medical school (β = -1.06; 95% CI, -1.37 to -0.76; P < .001), holding an additional advanced degree (β = -0.86; 95% CI, -1.22 to -0.50; P < .001), and having a higher United States Medical Licensing Examination Step 1 score (β = -0.35 per 10-point increase; 95% CI, -0.45 to -0.26; P < .001). This quality improvement study did not detect an association between the redaction of applicant characteristics on ophthalmology residency applications and the application review scores among underrepresented candidates at this institution. Although the study may not have been powered adequately to find a difference, these findings suggest that the association of redaction with application review scores may be preempted by additional approaches to enhance diversity, including pipeline programs, implicit bias training, diversity-centered culture and priorities, and targeted applicant outreach. Programs may adapt this study design to probe their own application screening biases and track over time before-and-after bias-related interventions.

The Otolaryngology Residency Program Preference Signaling Experience.

ProblemIn the 2021 residency application cycle, the average otolaryngology applicant applied to more than half of programs. Increasing application numbers make it difficult for applicants to stand out to programs of interest and for programs to identify applicants with sincere interest.ApproachAs part of the 2021 Match, otolaryngology applicants could participate in a preference signaling process, signaling up to 5 programs of particular interest at the time of application submission. Programs received a list of applicants who submitted signals to consider during interview offer deliberations. Applicants and program directors completed surveys to evaluate the signaling process and assess the impact of signals on interview offers.OutcomesAll otolaryngology residency programs participated in the signaling process. In total, 611 students submitted applications for otolaryngology residency programs, 559 applicants submitted a Match list including an otolaryngology program, and 558 applicants participated in the signaling process. The survey response rate was 42% for applicants (n = 233) and 52% for program directors (n = 62). The rate of receiving an interview offer was significantly higher from signaled programs (58%) than from both nonsignaled programs (14%; P < .001) and the comparative nonsignal program (23%; P < .001) (i.e., the program an applicant would have signaled given a sixth signal). This impact was consistent across the spectrum of applicant competitiveness. Applicants (178, 77%) and program directors (53, 91%) strongly favored continuing the program.Next StepsMany specialties face high residency application numbers. Programs have difficulty identifying applicants with sincere interest, and applicants face limited opportunities to identify programs of particular interest. Applicants to these specialties may benefit from a preference signaling process like that in otolaryngology. Additional evaluation is needed to determine the impact of signals across racial and demographic lines and to validate these early outcomes.

Evaluating Applicant Perceptions of the Impact of Social Media on the 2020-2021 Residency Application Cycle Occurring During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Survey Study.

BackgroundDue to challenges related to the COVID-19 pandemic, residency programs in the United States conducted virtual interviews during the 2020-2021 application season. As a result, programs and applicants may have relied more heavily on social media–based communication and dissemination of information.ObjectiveWe sought to determine social media’s impact on residency applicants during an entirely virtual application cycle.MethodsAn anonymous electronic survey was distributed to 465 eligible 2021 Match applicants at 4 University of California Schools of Medicine in the United States.ResultsA total of 72 participants (15.5% of eligible respondents), applying to 16 specialties, responded. Of those who responded, 53% (n=38) reported following prospective residency accounts on social media, and 89% (n=34) of those respondents were positively or negatively influenced by these accounts. The top three digital methods by which applicants sought information about residency programs included the program website, digital conversations with residents and fellows of that program, and Instagram. Among respondents, 53% (n=38) attended virtual information sessions for prospective programs. A minority of applicants (n=19, 26%) adjusted the number of programs they applied to based on information found on social media, with most (n=14, 74%) increasing the number of programs to which they applied. Survey respondents ranked social media’s effectiveness in allowing applicants to learn about programs at 6.7 (SD 2.1) on a visual analogue scale from 1-10. Most applicants (n=61, 86%) felt that programs should use social media in future application cycles even if they are nonvirtual.ConclusionsSocial media appears to be an important tool for resident recruitment. Future studies should seek more information on its effect on later parts of the application cycle and the Match.

PGY1 Resident-Led Mock Virtual Interviews to Prepare for the 2022 Otolaryngology Residency Virtual Interviews.

Due to the ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, virtual interviews are planned for the 2021-2022 residency application cycle. The virtual interview will remain novel to applicants for each match cycle until the graduating medical student class has experience from virtual interviews during their medical school admissions. The virtual interview poses unique challenges that are unique from in-person formats. Given the lack of experience of applicants in the 2022 match, practicing interviewing skills prior to the actual date is vital to success. We describe a postgraduate year 1 (PGY1)–run mock interview session for applicants preparing for the 2021-2022 otolaryngology interview cycle and discuss the methodology. Deliberate practice with PGY1 residents who have just recently undergone the virtual interview process can better prepare applicants for their virtual interviews, improve on-camera behaviors, and ameliorate mental health challenges unique to the virtual format.

Perspectives on the Orthopaedic Surgery Residency Application Process During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Introduction:The COVID-19 pandemic has led to the cancellation of away rotations and other experiences fundamental to orthopaedic surgery residency application. Limited information is available on the experiences of applicants and program directors (PDs) during the COVID-19 pandemic residency application cycle. This study aimed to evaluate the current perspectives of applicants and PDs regarding the orthopaedic surgery residency application process.Methods:This was a cross-sectional study using 2 independent but similar surveys that addressed multiple aspects of the application process during the COVID-19 pandemic, including perceived effect of virtual experiences. Between February and March 2021, the surveys were distributed to orthopaedic surgery applicants and orthopaedic residency PDs.Results:In total, 113 applicants (20.1%) and 29 PDs (19.6%) completed the survey. Applicants applied to 97.6 programs and received 13.3 interviews. They participated in 2.4 virtual away rotations. In total, 79.3% of programs reported offering some form of virtual opportunity, including virtual away rotations (24.0%), virtual happy hours (64.0%), and virtual conferences (64.0%). Programs offering virtual away rotations hosted 46.8 rotators and only invited back 54.5% for an interview. Applicants were most concerned about the lack of away rotations, the interview, and networking during this cycle, and 51% reported less confidence in matching. The most important factors for influencing applicant rank lists were perceived happiness of residents, resident camaraderie, and geographic location. However, residency program social events were not well replicated in a virtual setting.Discussion:The COVID-19 pandemic presented new challenges for applicants and PDs. Applicants had less clinical exposure and received less interview invites after virtual away rotations. Despite applying to more programs, applicants received fewer interviews than in previous years. The virtual experiences adopted in this cycle did not adequately replicate the social factors that applicants found most important when ranking a program. Even during the COVID-19 pandemic, PDs most highly valued away rotation performance, clinical rotation performance, and board examination scores when offering interviews.

The Efficacy of Virtual Subinternships as a Novel Educational Platform for Education and Recruitment.

The Efficacy of Virtual Subinternships as a Novel Educational Platform for Education and Recruitment.

The Impact of the SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) Pandemic on the 2020 to 2021 Integrated Plastic Surgery Residency Cycle.

The Impact of the SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) Pandemic on the 2020 to 2021 Integrated Plastic Surgery Residency Cycle.

PD24-07 IMPACT OF THE VIRTUAL INTERVIEW FORMAT ON UROLOGY RESIDENCY INTERVIEWS: A SURVEY OF PROGRAM DIRECTORS

You have accessJournal of UrologyEducation Research IV (PD24)1 Sep 2021PD24-07 IMPACT OF THE VIRTUAL INTERVIEW FORMAT ON UROLOGY RESIDENCY INTERVIEWS: A SURVEY OF PROGRAM DIRECTORS Andrew Ferry, Malke Asaad, Rami Elmorsi, Aashish Rajesh, and Renata Maricevich Andrew FerryAndrew Ferry More articles by this author , Malke AsaadMalke Asaad More articles by this author , Rami ElmorsiRami Elmorsi More articles by this author , Aashish RajeshAashish Rajesh More articles by this author , and Renata MaricevichRenata Maricevich More articles by this author View All Author Informationhttps://doi.org/10.1097/JU.0000000000002017.07AboutPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints ShareFacebookLinked InTwitterEmail Abstract INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVE: The COVID-19 pandemic has profoundly changed the 2020-2021 residency application cycle, with the introduction of the virtual interview (VI) format being among the most significant of implemented changes. While employed by all urology residencies this past application cycle, no studies have investigated how VIs have impacted the interview process from programs' perspective. The purpose of this study is to assess the impact of VIs to serve as a guide for programs when determining their interview procedures in future residency application cycles. METHODS: Web-based surveys with questions regarding the VI format's impact on varying aspects of the residency interview process were sent out to program directors (PDs) of ACGME-accredited urology residency programs. Elements of the residency interview process covered in the questions included costs, time commitment, candidate evaluation, technical difficulties, and overall thoughts about the VI format. RESULTS: A total of 38 PDs responded to our survey. All responding PDs agreed or strongly agreed that VIs were less expensive than in-person interviews with an average cost reduction of $3,244 per program. Despite switching to a VI format, only 34% of PDs reported that interviews were less time-consuming than in-person interviews. Regarding the evaluation of candidates, the majority of PDs stated that VIs were detrimental for the assessment of candidates' fit with a program (74%), their personality and communication skills (74%), and their commitment to the specialty as well as their ability to function as a urology resident (68%). Consequentially, 53% of urology residencies relied more heavily on candidates' objective metrics when developing their rank list. Technical difficulties that interfered with interviewing candidates occurred in 5% of interviews. Overall, the majority of programs (53%) stated that VIs were inferior to in-person interviews. Despite their decreased satisfaction with the VI format, 61% of programs were open to hosting virtual and in-person interviews. At the same time, 34% and 5% of the PDs reported that they would prefer to exclusively host in-person or virtual interviews in the 2021-2022 application cycle, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Despite their associated reduction in interview-related costs, VIs are not as reliable as in-person interviews to assess residency candidates for urology residency positions. Despite this, VIs exhibit significant potential upon further refinement of the format. More studies are needed to determine their impact in future application cycles. Source of Funding: Internal Funding only © 2021 by American Urological Association Education and Research, Inc.FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Volume 206Issue Supplement 3September 2021Page: e428-e428 Advertisement Copyright & Permissions© 2021 by American Urological Association Education and Research, Inc.MetricsAuthor Information Andrew Ferry More articles by this author Malke Asaad More articles by this author Rami Elmorsi More articles by this author Aashish Rajesh More articles by this author Renata Maricevich More articles by this author Expand All Advertisement Loading ...

The Virtual Recruitment Onion: Peeling Back the Layers of the Interview Season During the COVID-era

OBJECTIVEWe sought to characterize General Surgery residency program directors’ (PDs) baseline perspective on how the COVID-19 mandated changes to the recruitment and interview processes impacted how the PDs evaluated and recruited the applicants.DESIGNAn anonymous cross-sectional questionnaire survey.SETTINGA large, mid-western academic general surgery residency program.PARTICIPANTS47 PDs of Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) accredited General Surgery residency programs.RESULTSDuring the virtual-only interviews during the COVID-19 pandemic-era 2020-21 General Surgery residency application cycle, PDs shifted their focus to virtual outreach efforts and bolstered social media presences to recruit strong applicants. Also, our study found statistically significant changes to the increased value of letters of recommendation (LORs) for the PDs when assessing an applicant's commitment to surgery. These findings suggest that the necessity of adapting to the virtual-only interview format significantly altered how the PDs recruited and evaluated applicants for the General Surgery residency match.CONCLUSIONSA complete replacement of the in-person interviews with virtual-only interviews may be challenging unless buy-in exists from key stakeholders in the surgical community. Our study highlights the PDs’ hesitation in assessing candidates’ commitment to surgery from virtual interviews alone. Incorporating virtual interviews as a part of the screening process for applicants may serve as an avenue to maximize the benefits of the virtual interview format. Furthermore, COVID-19 pandemic has normalized the growing social media presence of residency programs, adding to the changing landscape of recruiting and interviewing applicants for General Surgery residency match.

Virtual Interviews in Neurosurgery Resident Selection—A Work in Progress

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the ACGME recommended all interviews for the 2021 residency application cycle be held virtually. Because this is major shift from neurosurgical interviews in past years, this study aims to evaluate both applicant and interviewer satisfaction of conducting interviews virtually. For faculty, an 11-question online survey was sent to 116 United States neurosurgery training programs. A 14-question online survey was sent to 255 neurosurgery applicants. The resulting data were analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively. From applicants, 118 responses were received. From faculty, 171 individual responses were received. Thirty-five percent (34.7%) of applicants agreed that they were satisfied with the virtual interview process as a whole. Although 44.5% of faculty disagreed with the statement "I would like to replace in-person interviews with virtual interviews in the future", 57.3% of faculty agreed that they were likely to implement virtual interviews in the future. Some things might be better assessed through in-person interviews, but there are clear benefits to virtual interviews. Future iterations of the interview process, incorporating virtual interviews, might help determine how and in which situations virtual interviews can be utilized in future residency application cycles.

The Impact of COVID-19 on Plastic Surgery Home Program Match Rates.

Historically, integrated plastic surgery is one of the most competitive specialties in the residency match. In the 2020-2021 residency application cycle, plastic surgery programs were forced to adjust how they select applicants because of the COVID-19 pandemic disrupting visiting subinternships. We hypothesize that a higher proportion of plastic surgery applicants matched at their home institution during the 2020-2021 application cycle secondary to the implementation of COVID-19-related restrictions. Between March 24 and 27, 2021, we used publicly available, online plastic surgery-specific spreadsheets to analyze plastic surgery applicant information over the course of 3 application cycles (2018-2019, 2019-2020, and 2020-2021) for the top 50 plastic surgery programs. We collected data corresponding to the matched plastic surgery applicants' medical school, the institution at which they matched, and whether they had previous communication with their matched program. Our search yielded information on 128 applicants from the 2019 match cycle, 129 applicants from the 2020 match cycle, and 133 applicants from the 2021 application cycle. In 2019 and 2020, 15 (11.7%) and 22 (17.1%) plastic surgery applicants matched at their home program, respectively. In 2021, 32 (24.1%) of plastic surgery applicants matched at their home program (P = 0.032). When stratified by reputation rank, home program match rates among programs ranked 1-25 in 2021 had a large increase over the 2020 match cycle (28.4% vs 16.7%), whereas the home match rates of programs ranked 26-50 in 2021 (17.3%) held level with that of 2020 (17.6%). Conversely, for those not matched to their home programs, only 20 (19.8%) in 2021 reported having had any prior contact with their matched programs compared with 54 (50.5%) in 2020 (P < 0.001). The 2020-2021 plastic surgery application cycle matched a significantly higher proportion of applicants at their home institution. With the temporary discontinuation of visiting subinternships during the 2020-2021 application cycle, it is likely that both plastic surgery programs and applicants compensate for this loss of in-person exposure by turning to home applicants and home institutions, respectively.

28406 Social media usage by dermatology programs in the first ever virtual residency application cycle

Background: Historically, social media has not played a significant role in dermatology residency program recruitment. As the COVID-19 pandemic interrupts audition rotations, the in-person interview season, and other face-to-face opportunities, many programs have turned to virtual opportunities for engagement. Social media platforms such as Instagram and Twitter provide a novel way for programs to attract applicants and showcase a program’s unique personality.

Applicant Preferences for Virtual Interviews: Insights from the 2020-21 Integrated Plastic Surgery Application Cycle.

Background:The COVID-19 pandemic created an unprecedented residency application cycle that required the use of virtual interviews. The inaugural class of applicants participating in virtual interviews were surveyed concerning their preferences and suggestions for future application cycles.Methods:A survey was distributed to 349 individuals who applied for an integrated plastic surgery residency position at three institutions during the 2020–21 application cycle. Responses were analyzed to determine the most popular attributes of virtual interviews.Results:Response rate was 44%. Eighty-six percent of applicants valued having time to consider their interview offers before scheduling; however, nearly one-third felt the instructions provided by programs lacked clarity and did not abide by the American Council of Academic Plastic Surgeons guidelines. Eighty-two percent of applicants valued having a preinterview social, and most preferred smaller breakout rooms organized by themes. A short interview day (less than three hours) was associated with less applicant familiarity with the program, its people, and its location when compared with medium (three to seven hours) and long (more than seven hours) interview days (P < 0.001 for all). Eighty percent of applicants preferred an interview day where they were placed into interview rooms by a program coordinator.Conclusions:The virtual interview format can be optimized in many ways to benefit both applicants and programs. The data presented in this article provide suggestions for future iterations of virtual interviews.