Background: General surgery was once the gateway into a career in surgery. Over time, surgical subspecialties developed separate residency programs, and recently, integrated programs have emerged. It is unknown what impact the presence of surgical subspecialties and integrated programs have had on general surgery. Our objective was to evaluate match trends and quantify competitiveness of the general surgery, integrated programs, and surgical subspecialties matches.

Methods: National Residency Matching Program match data and applicant characteristics from 2010 through 2020 were analyzed for US senior allopathic applicants. Integrated programs were defined as plastic and vascular surgery, and surgical subspecialties were defined as otolaryngology, orthopedic surgery, and neurosurgery. Trends were evaluated using linear regression, programs were compared on 10 metrics by Wilcoxon rank-sum tests, and a logistic regression was used to rank each specialty match.

Results: The number of US senior applicants per position to integrated programs decreased and approached that of general surgery and surgical subspecialties, but the median number of applicants per position to general surgery was lower than to surgical subspecialties or integrated programs (1.21 interquartile range). Our logistic regression showed United States Medical Licensing Examination scores, research experience, Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Society membership, and graduation from a top medical school to be the most important factors in the match, and our weighted rank score found general surgery (2.85) to be less competitive than surgical subspecialties (1.92) or integrated programs (1.17).

Conclusion: Throughout the last decade, integrated programs and surgical subspecialties have matched more competitive applicants based on the most significant predictors of the match. Moving forward, it is important that general surgery strives to attract the best and brightest out of medical school.

Download full-text PDF

Source
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.surg.2021.03.035DOI Listing

Publication Analysis

Top Keywords

surgical subspecialties
36
integrated programs
36
general surgery
32
surgery surgical
12
subspecialties integrated
12
surgery
11
programs
11
surgical
9
subspecialties
9
integrated
9

Similar Publications

Introduction: The advancements in neonatal resuscitation and surgical care have enabled children with congenital abnormalities to receive corrective surgeries and achieve lifespans well into adulthood. These patients may require long-term follow-up as they continue to have risks of developing sequelae from their original diseases or surgical interventions.

Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the current practice and barriers to the transition of care (TOC) from the perspectives of adult surgeons.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Some adult transplant surgeons consider transplant to be contraindicated in patients receiving palliative care (PC). Little is known about pediatric transplant surgeons' attitudes toward PC. We sought to ascertain pediatric kidney transplant surgeons' perspectives regarding the routine integration of PC for children with chronic kidney disease.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objective: In recent decades, many physicians have chosen to opt out of Medicare, allowing them to set their own pricing models for their patients. Characterization of Medicare opt-outs has not been thoroughly studied in any surgical specialty, including Neurosurgery. Our study characterizes the factors that may influence a neurosurgeon's decision to opt out of Medicare acceptance and contextualizes them both within the field and across various surgical specialties.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Frailty is increasingly being recognized as a risk factor for adverse outcomes in older surgical patients undergoing surgery. We investigated the association between frailty and intraoperative complications using multiple frailty assessment tools in older patients undergoing elective intermediate- to high-risk non-cardiac surgery. This retrospective cohort study included 637 older patients scheduled for elective non-cardiac surgery.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Optimal management of adult congenital heart disease (ACHD) requires a multidisciplinary team (MDT) approach, fostering a collaborative culture over an individualistic approach. Within this framework, subspecialty-trained radiologists provide crucial imaging expertise, supporting cardiologists, surgeons, and interventional cardiologists in diagnoses, treatment planning, and follow-up evaluations. Advanced imaging tools and a nuanced understanding of surgical and interventional procedures enable radiologists to provide valuable insights to clinicians.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?

Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!