A Focused Gap Year Program in Orthopaedic Research: An 18-Year Experience.

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Surgical Training
• Research Outcomes

Background:

• Students pursue gap years to gain knowledge and enhance professional prospects.
• While research opportunities exist, their impact on residency match rates remains understudied.
• This study assesses the effect of an orthopaedic research year on residency match success.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the orthopaedic surgery match rate for students completing a dedicated research gap year.
• To compare the match rate of this cohort with national averages.
• To analyze demographic differences and publication output.

Main Methods:

• A cohort of 129 learners undertaking a year of orthopaedic research from 2001-2018 was surveyed.
• The orthopaedic surgery match rate was compared to national data (2006-2018) using chi-square analysis.
• Publication counts pre- and post-research year were compared using the Mann-Whitney U test.

Main Results:

• 91% of students who ranked orthopaedic surgery matched into residency, significantly higher than the national average (67.9%, P < 0.001).
• The research cohort had lower United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) Step 1 scores.
• The cohort included higher percentages of women (23%) and minorities (40%) compared to practicing orthopaedic surgeons.

Conclusions:

• A gap year dedicated to orthopaedic research improves residency match rates.
• This pathway can be valuable for students, even those with lower standardized test scores.
• Research programs can help increase diversity in orthopaedic surgery by recruiting underrepresented groups.