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Have Degree, Will Travel? Geography and Orthopaedic Surgery Residency Match
Elizabeth Cinquegrani1, Drake Giese2, Jefferson Driscoll2
1Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Journal of Surgical Education
|January 1, 2025
Summary
Most orthopedic surgery residents have geographic ties to their training programs, but many train far from their hometowns or previous schools. This study analyzes the relationship between resident geography and program location to aid in ranking decisions.
Area of Science:
- Orthopedic Surgery
- Medical Education
- Residency Matching
Background:
- Objective data on orthopedic surgery residency applications is limited, complicating candidate selection.
- Understanding the influence of geography on residency match outcomes can improve program screening and ranking.
- This study investigates the geographic background of US orthopedic surgery residents in relation to their program locations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To describe the geographic origins of orthopedic surgery residents in the United States.
- To analyze the relationship between residents' hometown, undergraduate, and medical school locations and their current residency program's location.
- To test the hypothesis that geographic background significantly influences residency program placement.
Main Methods:
- Collected geographic data (hometown, undergraduate, medical school regions/cities) for US orthopedic surgery residents from public program websites.
- Analyzed the association between resident geographic background and residency program location using Cramer's V.
- Calculated the distance between residency programs and residents' hometowns, undergraduate, and medical school cities using the Haversine formula.
Main Results:
- 3718 residents were analyzed; 47.2% matched in their hometown region, 40.7% in their undergraduate region, and 49.6% in their medical school region.
- A significant relationship (p < 0.0001) exists between program region and resident geographic history, strongest with medical school region.
- Residents trained an average of 1175 km from hometown, 1041 km from undergraduate city, and 894 km from medical school city.
Conclusions:
- The link between orthopedic surgery residents' geographic history and their program location is intricate.
- While most residents have some geographic connection to their training site, many are geographically distant from their origins.
- Findings may assist residency programs in evaluating the role of geography alongside other factors in candidate ranking.
