Robert Romano1, Debraj Mukherjee1, L Madison Michael2, Judy Huang1, M Harrison Snyder3, Vamsi P Reddy4, Katherine Guzman5, Pamela Lane6, Jeremiah N Johnson7, Nathan R Selden8, Stacey Q Wolfe9. 1. 1Department of Neurosurgery, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland. 2. 2Department of Neurosurgery, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, Tennessee. 3. 3Department of Neurosurgery, Tufts Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts. 4. 4Department of Neurosurgery, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas. 5. 5Department of Neurosurgery, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California. 6. 6Department of Neurosurgery, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee. 7. 7Department of Neurosurgery, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas. 8. 8Department of Neurological Surgery, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, Oregon; and. 9. 9Department of Neurological Surgery, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: In this article, the authors describe the impact of the COVID-19 virtual match cycle and discuss approaches to optimize future cycles through applicant and neurosurgical education leadership insights. METHODS: Anonymous surveys of neurosurgery program leaders (program directors and program chairs), program administrators (PAs), and 2020-2021 neurosurgery residency match applicants were distributed by the SNS, in conjunction with the Association of Resident Administrators in Neurological Surgery and AANS Young Neurosurgeons Committee. RESULTS: Responses were received from 77 (67.0%) of 115 PAs, 119 (51.7%) of 230 program leaders, and 124 (44.3%) of 280 applicants representing geographically diverse regions. During the virtual application cycle relative to the previous year, programs received more Electronic Residency Application Service applications (mean 314.8 vs 285.3, p < 0.0001) and conducted more applicant interviews (mean 45.2 vs 39.9, p = 0.0003). More than 50% of applicants applied to > 80 programs; 60.3% received ≤ 20 interview invitations, and 9% received > 40 invitations. Overall, 65% of applicants completed ≤ 20 interviews, whereas 34.7% completed > 20 interviews. Program leaders described one 4-week home subinternship (93.3%) and two 4-week external subinternships (68.9%) as optimal neurosurgical exposure; 62.8% of program leaders found the standardized letter of recommendation template to be somewhat (47.5%) or significantly (15.3%) helpful. Applicants, PAs, and program leaders all strongly preferred a hybrid model of in-person and virtual interview options for future application cycles over all in-person or all virtual options. Ninety-three percent of applicants reported matching within their top 10-ranked programs, and 52.9% of programs matched residents within the same decile ranking as in previous years. CONCLUSIONS: Optimizing a national strategy for the neurosurgery application process that prioritizes equity and reduces costs, while ensuring adequate exposure for applicants to gain educational opportunities and evaluate programs, is critical to maintain a successful training system.
OBJECTIVE: In this article, the authors describe the impact of the COVID-19 virtual match cycle and discuss approaches to optimize future cycles through applicant and neurosurgical education leadership insights. METHODS: Anonymous surveys of neurosurgery program leaders (program directors and program chairs), program administrators (PAs), and 2020-2021 neurosurgery residency match applicants were distributed by the SNS, in conjunction with the Association of Resident Administrators in Neurological Surgery and AANS Young Neurosurgeons Committee. RESULTS: Responses were received from 77 (67.0%) of 115 PAs, 119 (51.7%) of 230 program leaders, and 124 (44.3%) of 280 applicants representing geographically diverse regions. During the virtual application cycle relative to the previous year, programs received more Electronic Residency Application Service applications (mean 314.8 vs 285.3, p < 0.0001) and conducted more applicant interviews (mean 45.2 vs 39.9, p = 0.0003). More than 50% of applicants applied to > 80 programs; 60.3% received ≤ 20 interview invitations, and 9% received > 40 invitations. Overall, 65% of applicants completed ≤ 20 interviews, whereas 34.7% completed > 20 interviews. Program leaders described one 4-week home subinternship (93.3%) and two 4-week external subinternships (68.9%) as optimal neurosurgical exposure; 62.8% of program leaders found the standardized letter of recommendation template to be somewhat (47.5%) or significantly (15.3%) helpful. Applicants, PAs, and program leaders all strongly preferred a hybrid model of in-person and virtual interview options for future application cycles over all in-person or all virtual options. Ninety-three percent of applicants reported matching within their top 10-ranked programs, and 52.9% of programs matched residents within the same decile ranking as in previous years. CONCLUSIONS: Optimizing a national strategy for the neurosurgery application process that prioritizes equity and reduces costs, while ensuring adequate exposure for applicants to gain educational opportunities and evaluate programs, is critical to maintain a successful training system.
Entities:
Keywords:
interview capping; letter of recommendation template; match; neurosurgery; recruitment; single release date; virtual interviews