A 3-Year Analysis of Characteristics That Predict Interview Offer to a Vascular Surgery Residency Program

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Surgical Residency Admissions
• Applicant Evaluation

Background:

• Letters of recommendation (LOR) are vital components of residency applications.
• Vascular surgery (VS) program directors highly value LORs in assessing applicants.
• Understanding factors influencing interview offers is critical for applicant success.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify applicant and LOR characteristics associated with interview invitations for vascular surgery integrated residency (VSIR) programs.
• To analyze trends in these factors over three application cycles (2021-2024).
• To assess the impact of linguistic content in LORs on interview offers.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of 388 VSIR applications from 2021-2024.
• Extraction of applicant demographics, writer characteristics, and LOR content.
• Utilized Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (LIWC-22) software to analyze LORs.
• Multivariable analysis to determine associations between interview offers and applicant/LOR factors.

Main Results:

• Applicants receiving interview offers (33%) were more likely to have Alpha Omega Alpha membership, surgery honors, and higher Step 2 scores.
• LORs from VS faculty and away institutions were strongly associated with interview offers.
• Letters referencing teaching, research, and curiosity were more likely to be associated with interviews.
• Letters referencing "ability" and "grindstone" were less likely to be associated with interview offers.

Conclusions:

• Academic achievements and LORs from VS and away faculty are key predictors of VSIR interview offers.
• These associations have strengthened post-USMLE Step 1 score removal.
• Linguistic analysis shows consistent importance of referencing teaching and research in LORs.