Highlights
- •Pediatric Surgery is a highly competitive fellowship and understanding which applicant factors are important for interview selection and ranking per program directors is helpful.
- •Matching in pediatric surgery is complex; from a program director standpoint quality letters of recommendation, publications, support from colleagues, and general leadership and interpersonal skills are important.
Abstract
Background
One of the most competitive surgical sub-specialty fellowships remains Pediatric Surgery
(PS), which requires candidates to develop a strong and research-oriented curriculum
vitae. Although some objective factors of matriculation are known, factors for the
interview selection and ranking per the program directors (PDs) have not been reviewed
in over a decade.
Methods
A web-based survey of US and Canadian PS program directors (PDs) (n = 58) was used to evaluate a comprehensive list of factors in the selection criteria
for PS fellowships. A mix of dichotomous, ranking, five-point Likert scale, and open-ended
questions evaluated applicant characteristics, ABSITE scores, research productivity,
interview day, and rank order criteria.
Results
Fifty-five programs responded to the survey for a 95% participation rate. PDs desired
an average of two years in dedicated research and weighted first authorship and total
number of publications heavily. Only 38% of programs used an ABSITE score cutoff for
offering interviews; however, the majority agreed that an overall upward trend was
important. Quality letters of recommendation, especially from known colleagues, carried
weight when deciding to offer interviews. Interview performance, being a team player,
observed interpersonal interactions, perceived operative skills and patient care,
and leadership were some of the notable factors when finalizing rank lists.
Conclusions
A multitude of factors define a successful matriculant, including quality of letters
of recommendation, quality and quantity of publications, supportive phone calls, observed
interactions, interview performance, perceptions of being team player with leadership
skills as well as perceptions of good operative skills and patient care.
Level of evidence
Type II.
Type of study
Prognostic (retrospective).
Keywords
Abbreviations:
ABSITE (American board of surgery in-training examination), AOA (alpha omega alpha), APSTPD (association of pediatric surgery training program directors), ERAS (electronic residency application service), NRMP (national resident match program), PD (program director), PGY (post-graduate year), PS (pediatric surgery)To read this article in full you will need to make a payment
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: November 06, 2021
Accepted:
October 25,
2021
Received in revised form:
October 15,
2021
Received:
August 26,
2021
Identification
Copyright
© 2021 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
