Analyses of Orthopaedic Surgery Residency Interviews.

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Surgical Residency Selection
• Applicant Evaluation

Background:

• Interviews are crucial for orthopaedic surgery residency selection.
• Changes like pass/fail USMLE Step 1 and virtual interviews due to COVID-19 present challenges.
• Objective metrics for evaluating applicants are diminishing.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine the orthopaedic surgery residency applicant interview and ranking process.
• To assess variability in faculty interviewer evaluations.
• To identify factors associated with applicant ranking.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective review of 2020-2021 and 2021-2022 virtual interview cycles.
• Analysis of applicant demographics, academic backgrounds, and faculty interviewer scores.
• Calculation of interobserver reliability among faculty interviewers.

Main Results:

• No significant agreement was found among faculty interviewers' scores (kappa range 0-0.2).
• Factors associated with being ranked included first-time application, USMLE scores, educational breaks, class rank, and interviewer scores.
• Higher rank was associated with additional degrees, couples match, AOA, educational breaks, URM status, and notable attributes.

Conclusions:

• Significant variability and lack of reliability exist in faculty interviewer ratings.
• Rankings were influenced by academic record, interview performance, and applicant qualities.
• The decline in objective metrics challenges optimal residency matching.