Determining the Most Important Factors Involved in Ranking Orthopaedic Sports Medicine Fellowship Applicants

Abstract

Background:Orthopaedic surgery residencies and certain fellowships are becoming increasingly competitive. Several studies have identified important factors to be taken into account when selecting medical students for residency interviews. Similar information for selecting orthopaedic sports medicine fellows does not exist.Purpose:To determine the most important factors that orthopaedic sports medicine fellowship program directors (PDs) take into account when ranking applicants.Study Design:Cross-sectional study.Methods:A brief survey was distributed electronically to PDs of the 92 orthopaedic sports medicine fellowship programs that are accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME). Each PD was asked to rank, in order, the 5 most important factors taken into account when ranking applicants based on a total list of 13 factors: the interview, the applicant’s residency program, letters of recommendation (LORs), personal connections made through the applicant, research experience, an applicant’s geographical ties to the city/town of the fellowship program, United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) scores, Orthopaedic In-Training Examination (OITE) scores, history of being a competitive athlete in college, extracurricular activities/hobbies, volunteer experience, interest in a career in academics, and publications/research/posters. Factors were scored from 1 to 5, with a score of 5 representing the most important factor and 1 representing the fifth-most important factor.Results:Of the 92 PDs contacted, 57 (62%) responded. Thirty-four PDs (37%) listed the interview as the most important factor in ranking fellowship applicants (overall score, 233). LORs (overall score, 196), an applicant’s residency program (overall score, 133), publications/research/posters (overall score, 115), and personal connections (overall score, 90) were reported as the second- through fifth-most important factors, respectively.Conclusion:According to orthopaedic sports medicine fellowship PDs, the fellowship interview is the most important factor in determining how an applicant will be ranked. Other factors, including LORs, the applicant’s residency program, research production, and personal connections, were also considered to be important. This information provides orthopaedic sports medicine fellowship applicants with a better understanding of which areas to focus on when preparing for the fellowship interview and matching process.

Attributes of Society of Genitourinary Reconstructive Surgeons Fellows and Early Career Trajectory of the Recent Graduates

“…In a study surveying orthopedic fellowship program directors in the U.S. the most important criteria in deciding to offer an interview were letters of recommendation from subspecialty faculty, quality of residency program and letter from the program director. 7 In line with the findings of our study advanced degree, extracurricular activities and quality of medical school were less important. Similar to our findings ophthalmic plastic and reconstructive surgery and pediatric emergency medicine program directors highly valued interview performance, ability to work/communicate with others and letters of recommendation from subspecialty faculty when ranking a fellow.…”

Orthopaedic Sports Medicine Fellowship Interviews: Structure and Organization of the Interview Day

“…Published studies on orthopaedic education commonly have response rates that are similar to ours. 1 , 6 , 9 Our survey may not have included all factors that fellowship directors and/or applicants consider to be important in the application, selection, interview, and ranking process. Another potential factor that PDs could take into account would be the evaluation of performance on a manual skills test.…”

Extended Reality in Medical Education: Driving Adoption through Provider-Centered Design

“…The school should create additional opportunities for these student champions to stay involved in the development, and eventual rollout, of the XR product throughout their education. For example, in exchange for their continued participation, the school could choose to grant elective credit or research opportunities, which have been shown to be associated with high match rates in a student’s specialty of choice [15]. We believe that medical students are more likely to engage with the XR tool, and use it throughout the continuum of their medical education, if they believe it is an investment in their future as a physician.…”