A Cross-Sectional Analysis of Foot and Ankle Fellowship Match From 2012 to 2023: Does Gender or Degree Type Matter?

In recent years, there has been an increased push for diversity in orthopaedics at the residency level. There has also been a noticeable shift away from foot and ankle fellowship, with many fellowship positions open throughout the country annually. With the increase in osteopathic and female orthopaedic applications to orthopaedic surgery residency, we hypothesized that this would be reflected in the foot and ankle fellowship applications in the last decade.

The San Franscisco Match data from 2012 to 2023 were analyzed for degree type and from 2013 to 2023 for gender. There were 1082 applicants for adult foot and ankle fellowships from 2012 to 2023, 74 osteopathic applicants (11.4%), and 573 allopathic applicants (88.6%). There were 126 female applicants (21.3%) and 465 male applicants (78.7%). The 435 international graduates were excluded from this analysis. The degree type, gender, number of applicants, and number of applicants matched into orthopaedic foot and ankle fellowship was reviewed.

The number of osteopathic applicants and female applications did not change significantly over the study period. There was a statistically significant decrease in the number of allopathic applicants (P = .003) and a significant decrease in the number of male applicants to foot and ankle fellowship (P = .00004). The match rate for allopathic, osteopathic, and male applicants all statistically increased over the study periods, whereas the female applicant match rate remained stable. Programs tended to rank their matched allopathic residents higher, whereas osteopathic applicants' position in the fellowship program rank list remained steady. Female and male applicants matched at programs higher on their rank lists, whereas programs match applicants lower on theirs.

More orthopaedic foot and ankle surgeons are needed nationwide. Understanding recent trends in applicant demographics and match outcomes may help inform strategies to increase interest and participation in this subspecialty.

IV, cross-sectional study.