Orthopaedic Adult Reconstruction Fellowship Match Rates: How Do Degree and Sex Affect Match Success?

Area of Science:

• Orthopaedic Surgery
• Medical Education
• Surgical Fellowships

Background:

• Identified discrepancies in sex and medical degree representation in orthopaedic education.
• Previous studies noted imbalances in gender and degree type within the field.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze trends in applicant sex and degree type for adult reconstruction fellowships.
• Evaluate changes in applicant demographics and match rates over time.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of San Francisco match data from 2012 to 2023.
• Evaluation of applicant numbers and match rates stratified by sex and degree type (allopathic vs. osteopathic).
• Application of Pearson's correlation test to identify trends.

Main Results:

• Significant annual increases in applicant numbers for both men and women.
• Men showed a significant increase in match rate, while women's match rate did not change significantly.
• Women had a slightly higher match rate (87.6%) than men (84.8%), though not statistically significant.
• Allopathic candidates showed significant increases in both applicant numbers and match rates.
• Osteopathic candidates' applicant numbers did not change significantly, but their match rate increased significantly.
• Allopathic applicants were significantly more likely to match than osteopathic applicants (OR = 2.47).

Conclusions:

• Men and women applicants achieve comparable match rates for adult reconstruction fellowships.
• Osteopathic graduates, irrespective of sex, are less likely to match into these fellowships compared to allopathic graduates.
• Fellowship programs appear to rank osteopathic graduates lower in the selection process.