Medical School Characteristics Associated with Matched Otolaryngology Residency Applicants

Abstract

OBJECTIVE

Identify which medical schools produce the most otolaryngology residents, and associated characteristics which may contribute to this productivity.

DESIGN

The medical school and residency program of each otolaryngology-matched student was identified. Various characteristics for each medical school and residency were compared in univariate and multivariate analysis after adjusting for class size. Percentage of matched students relative to class size was identified and compared for each geographic region.

SETTING

Cross-sectional study of publicly available match data from otomatch.com and otolaryngology residency program websites from 2020-2023.

PARTICIPANTS

1411 students from 174 medical schools matched into 126 otolaryngology residencies were identified.

RESULTS

Private medical schools (β = 0.50, p = 0.03), larger otolaryngology departments (β = 0.01, p = 0.04), and higher U.S. News and World Report (USNWR) ranking (β = −0.01, p = 0.02) was associated with a greater percentage of otolaryngology-matched students while schools in the Mountain region were associated with a lower percentage of matched students (β = −1.08, p = 0.02). A difference in percentage of matched students was observed when comparing across all regions (p < 0.01) but no significant differences were observed between any individual regions. The East North Central Region and the Middle Atlantic regions were more likely to match students from their respective regions compared to the Mountain region (OR: 4.98, 95% CI: 1.18, 21.01; OR: 8.20, 95% CI: 1.92, 34.99, respectively). Additionally, the Mountain region was less likely to match students from their own region compared to the Pacific (OR: 0.21, 95% CI: 0.05, 0.90), South Atlantic (OR: 0.20, 95% CI: 0.05, 0.85), and West South Central (OR: 0.15, 95% CI: 0.03, 0.67) regions.

CONCLUSIONS

Medical school characteristics such as private vs public status, size of otolaryngology department, higher USNWR ranking, and geographic region impact the number of otolaryngology-matched students. Applicants should consider the impact of their geographic region when allocating signals during the residency application process.