Orphan Applicants in Orthopedic Surgery: Where Do Allopathic Applicants Without an Affiliated Residency Program...

Area of Science:

• Orthopedic Surgery
• Medical Education
• Residency Matching

Background:

• Orthopedic surgery is a highly competitive residency specialty.
• Assessing match success and program types can be challenging for applicants.
• Understanding factors influencing match outcomes is crucial for medical students.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare orthopedic residency match types for medical students from schools with and without home programs.
• To analyze the impact of a home orthopedic surgery program on residency placement.

Main Methods:

• A five-year retrospective study (2019-2023) analyzed 155 US medical schools.
• Data included presence of a home program, total orthopedic matches, and program affiliation (academic, community, military).
• 115 schools provided sufficient data for analysis.

Main Results:

• Students from institutions with home programs (n=2066) predominantly matched into academic centers (73%).
• Orphan applicants (n=219) also favored academic programs (67.8%) but at a lower rate.
• Orphan applicants showed a higher match rate into community programs (12.8%) compared to those with home programs (8.3%).

Conclusions:

• Medical schools with home orthopedic surgery programs facilitate higher rates of matching into academic residency positions.
• Orphan applicants are more likely to be placed in community-based orthopedic residency programs.
• The presence of a home program appears to influence the type of residency placement achieved by medical students.