Factors influencing medical student choices in the integrated vascular surgery match: Implications for future post-pandemic residency matches.
OBJECTIVE: Integrated vascular surgery residency is among the most competitive specialties, but little is known about the applicant perspective. The coronavirus disease 2019 outbreak impacted the 2021 integrated vascular surgery residency match because of travel restrictions. We sought to better understand pre-pandemic applicant recruitment strategies, logistics of away rotations, and the residency interview process to identify areas for improvement in the application process. METHODS: An anonymous survey was sent to matched students in 2020, inquiring about motivations for pursuing vascular surgery (VS), logistic of away rotations and interviews, and factors influencing students' rank lists. RESULTS: Seventy of the 73 matched students completed the survey (95.9% response rate). The median age was 27 (range, 25-41); 32.9% were female, 91.4% were U.S. medical students, and 77.1% were from institutions with a VS training program. Factors most strongly influencing the decision to choose VS as a career were interest in open vascular procedures, endovascular procedures, perceived job satisfaction, emerging technologies, and influence of a mentor. The prospect of the job market, future salary, and competitiveness of the application process had the least impact. Of the matched students, 82.9% completed an away rotation (median, 2; range, 1-4), with 51.7% of students paying a total cost of more than
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- Vascular Surgical Procedures
- Travel
- Surveys and Questionnaires
- Students, Medical
- Specialties, Surgical
- Personnel Selection
- Pandemics
- Motivation
- Mentors
- Male
Citation
Published In
DOI
EISSN
Publication Date
Volume
Issue
Start / End Page
Location
Related Subject Headings
- Vascular Surgical Procedures
- Travel
- Surveys and Questionnaires
- Students, Medical
- Specialties, Surgical
- Personnel Selection
- Pandemics
- Motivation
- Mentors
- Male