A Comparison of Otolaryngology Residency Applicants Over Time and to Other Surgical Applicants

Authors

Matthew E Lin
Khush Kharidia
Deborah Choe
Neelesh Bagrodia
Neil N Luu
Tamara Chambers

Publication Date

1-1-2024

Journal

OTO Open

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: Understand how otolaryngology residency applicant characteristics have changed over time and compare them to those of other surgical subspecialties.

STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective analysis of academic, extracurricular, and application data in the Texas Seeking Transparency in Application to Residency databases.

SETTING: Applicants to otolaryngology, neurological surgery, ophthalmology, plastic surgery, urology, and orthopedic surgery applicants from 2019 to 2023.

METHODS: Kruskal-Wallis, Wilcoxon rank sum, Fischer's exact, and Mann-Whitney

RESULTS: Across 4 match cycles and 541 otolaryngology applicants, significant differences were found in the average number of honored clerkships per applicant (

CONCLUSION: Matching into otolaryngology has become increasingly competitive and is as competitive as peer surgical subspecialties. Strong academic performance, judicious program signaling, increased research involvement, and holistic factors like letters of recommendation may help applicants successfully match.

Keywords

applicant characteristics, residency, surgical subspecialty

Comments

PMID: 38390224