Prevalence of Prohibited Questions during Plastic Surgery Residency Interviews

Despite rules set forth by the National Resident Matching Program and American Association of Medical Colleges (AAMC), prohibited questions during the residency interview process are well documented. This study describes the prevalence of these encounters by surveying residency applicants to integrated plastic and reconstructive surgery (PRS) programs for the 2022 match cycle.

An anonymous 16-question REDCap survey was distributed to 2022 cycle applicants of a single PRS program. The applicants were queried about demographic information, interview experience, and questions deemed illegal by the AAMC/NRMP guidelines.

One hundred survey responses were attained for a 33.1% response rate. The majority of respondents were aged 26-30 (76%), women (53%), and white (53%); 33% received 15+ interviews for the application cycle. Seventy-eight percent of respondents reported being asked a prohibited question during at least one interview, with the most common "illegal" question categories being number/ranking of interviews (42%), marital status (33%), career balance (25%), and race/ethnicity (22%). Only 25.6% of applicants considered the subject matter inappropriate, whereas 42.3% were unsure. Although no applicant took action to report the potentially illegal scenarios, 30% said that their experiences influenced their rank list.

Our survey study revealed that prohibited interview questions in PRS residency interviews are common. Permissible lines of questioning and discussion between programs and applicants during residency interviews have been defined by AAMC. Institutions should provide guidance and training to all participants. Applicants should be made aware of and empowered to utilize available anonymous reporting tools.