Related Experiment Video
Updated: Apr 15, 2026
10:39
Qualitative and Quantitative Validation of Tools with Rating Scales Aimed at Assessing the Quality of University Service-Learning
Published on: August 29, 2025
1.3K
Asking for a commitment: violations during the 2007 match and the effect on applicant rank lists
H Gene Hern1, Brian Johnson1, Harrison J Alter1
1Alameda Health System - Highland Hospital, Department of Emergency Medicine, Oakland, California.
The Western Journal of Emergency Medicine
|April 3, 2015
Summary
Residency applicants are frequently asked for ranking commitments, a violation of National Resident Matching Program (NRMP) rules. This practice, especially in orthopedics and OBGYN, makes applicants less likely to rank the program.
Area of Science:
- Medical Education
- Residency Matching
- Surgical Specialties
Background:
- The National Resident Matching Program (NRMP) prohibits residency programs from requesting applicant commitments to rank them highly.
- This practice creates ethical and regulatory challenges during the residency application process.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the prevalence of residency programs asking applicants for ranking commitments.
- To determine the impact of such requests on applicant ranking decisions.
Main Methods:
- A cross-sectional survey was administered to U.S. medical school applicants across five specialties during the 2006-2007 interview season.
- Data were collected via the Electronic Residency Application Service and analyzed using descriptive statistics and logistic regression.
Main Results:
- Nearly 20% of surveyed applicants reported being asked for a ranking commitment.
- Orthopedics (28.9%) and Obstetrics & Gynecology (23.7%) showed the highest prevalence of this violation.
- 38.4% of applicants stated that being asked for a commitment decreased their likelihood of ranking the program.
Conclusions:
- Residency applicants are experiencing prohibited requests for ranking commitments, indicating NRMP regulation violations.
- Orthopedics and OBGYN specialties exhibited the highest rates of these forbidden inquiries.
- Requests for ranking commitments negatively influence applicant decisions, potentially impacting program rankings.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
01:02Ranks
582
Unlike parametric methods, nonparametric statistics are ideal for nominal and ordinal data, requiring fewer assumptions about the population's nature or distribution. This makes nonparametric methods easier to apply and interpret, as they do not depend on parameters like mean or standard deviation. One common approach in nonparametric analysis is to sort data according to a specific criterion. For instance, we might arrange weather data from hottest to coldest days in a month or rank cities...
582
04:49Robbers Cave
15.2K
During the 1950s, the landmark Robbers Cave experiment demonstrated that when groups must compete with one another, intergroup conflict, hostility, and even violence may result. At the Oklahoman summer camp, two troops of boys—termed the Rattlers and the Eagles—took part in a week-long tournament. During this time, their negativity culminated in derogatory name-calling, fistfights, and even vandalism and destruction of property. However, this work also revealed that such tension...
15.2K
01:29Reliability and Validity
14.4K
Reliability and validity are two important considerations that must be made with any type of data collection. Reliability refers to the ability to consistently produce a given result. In the context of psychological research, this would mean that any instruments or tools used to collect data do so in consistent, reproducible ways.
14.4K
01:21Friedman Two-way Analysis of Variance by Ranks
604
Friedman's Two-Way Analysis of Variance by Ranks is a nonparametric test designed to identify differences across multiple test attempts when traditional assumptions of normality and equal variances do not apply. Unlike conventional ANOVA, which requires normally distributed data with equal variances, Friedman's test is ideal for ordinal or non-normally distributed data, making it particularly useful for analyzing dependent samples, such as matched subjects over time or repeated measures...
604
01:09Wilcoxon Signed-Ranks Test for Matched Pairs
627
The Wilcoxon signed-rank test for matched pairs evaluates the null hypothesis by combining the ranks of differences with their signs. It essentially tests whether the median of the differences in a population of matched pairs is zero. Since the test incorporates more information than the sign test, it generally yields more trustable conclusions. This test also does not require the data to follow a normal distribution, but two conditions must be met for it to be applicable: (1) the data must...
627
01:21Wilcoxon Rank-Sum Test
930
The Wilcoxon rank-sum test, also known as the Mann-Whitney U test, is a nonparametric test used to determine if there is a significant difference between the distributions of two independent samples. This test is designed specifically for two independent populations and has the following key requirements:
930