Solving Congestion in the Plastic Surgery Match: A Game Theory Analysis

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Surgical Specialties
• Health Services Research

Background:

• Plastic and reconstructive surgery is a highly competitive residency specialty.
• High application volumes to the National Residency Matching Program (NRMP) create significant burdens for applicants and programs.
• Distinguishing genuine interest from broad application strategies is challenging.

Purpose of the Study:

• To characterize trends in the plastic and reconstructive surgery match rate.
• To explore game theory applications for addressing residency application congestion.
• To propose an application limit as a solution to improve the match process.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of match rate trends in integrated plastic and reconstructive surgery programs.
• Literature review on game theory principles relevant to matching algorithms.
• Application of game theory models to explain observed applicant behavior and outcomes.

Main Results:

• Increasing numbers of integrated plastic and reconstructive surgery programs correlate with specific match trends.
• Game theory provides a framework for understanding the 'arms race' of excessive applications.
• The current system incentivizes broad application, masking true program interest.

Conclusions:

• An application limit is proposed as the most reasonable solution to mitigate residency application congestion.
• Implementing such a limit could reduce burdens and better identify candidates with genuine program interest.
• Game theory offers valuable insights for optimizing the NRMP and similar matching systems.