A 3-Year Analysis of Characteristics That Predict Interview Offer to a Vascular Surgery Residency Program

IF 2.1 3区医学 Q1 EDUCATION, SCIENTIFIC DISCIPLINES

Journal of Surgical Education Pub Date : 2025-08-18 DOI:10.1016/j.jsurg.2025.103643

Stephanie Rodriguez MD , Richard Shi MD , Saranya S. Sundaram MD, MMSc , Rupak Mukherjee PhD , Mathew Wooster MD, MBA , Ravikumar Veeraswamy MD , Adam Tanious MD, MBA, MMSc

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

OBJECTIVE

Vascular surgery (VS) program directors consider letters of recommendation (LOR) to be among the most essential parts of the residency application. This study aims to characterize applicant and LOR factors associated with an interview offer to a VS integrated residency (VSIR) program over three consecutive application cycles.

METHODS

Applicant characteristics (all applicants; n = 388) and LORs were abstracted from residency applications to a VSIR program from 2021 to 2024. Applicant demographic data and letter writer characteristics were abstracted. The Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (LIWC-22) software, a validated text analysis program, was used to characterize LOR body content. Analyzed letters were compared according to interview offer and application year using multivariable analysis, examining the association between interview offer and applicant, letter writer, and LOR linguistic characteristics.

RESULTS

Applicants offered an interview (n = 129; 33% of all applicants) were more likely to hold alpha omega alpha membership, obtain honors on a surgery rotation, and have a higher Step 2 score. A higher proportion of LORs written by VS was associated with interview offer (89.5% vs 66.3%, p < 0.001), while fewer letters from general surgeons was associated with an interview offer in all years. The presence of at least one chair, chief, program directors, or away rotation letter was associated with an interview offer. Presence of an away letter increased each year, with 66% of applicants having an away letter in 2023 compared to 42% in 2021 (p < 0.001). Letters written for applicants offered an interview were 18% more likely to reference teaching (p < 0.001), 14.7% more likely to reference research (p = 0.004), and 7.3% more likely to reference curiosity (p = 0.03) with no variations by applicant year. Letters for interviewed applicants were less likely to reference ability (p = 0.02) and grindstone (p = 0.006).

CONCLUSIONS

Applicants offered a VSIR interview were more likely to demonstrate academic excellence and have letters written by VS and away institution faculty; these associations have strengthened in the absence of United States Medical Licensing Exam Step 1 scores after 2021. Linguistic characteristics of LORs remain relatively unchanged across application cycles, with an emphasis on teaching and research remaining associated with an interview offer.

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预测血管外科住院医师面试Offer的3年特征分析

目的血管外科（VS）项目主任认为推荐信（LOR）是住院医师申请中最重要的部分之一。本研究旨在描述申请人和LOR因素与连续三个申请周期内VS综合住院医师（VSIR）计划的面试offer相关。方法从2021 - 2024年VSIR项目的住院申请中提取申请人特征（所有申请人；n = 388）和LORs。对申请人的人口统计数据和写信人的特征进行了抽象。语言查询和字数统计（LIWC-22）软件是一个经过验证的文本分析程序，用于表征LOR正文内容。采用多变量分析方法，根据面试offer和申请年份对所分析的信函进行比较，检验面试offer与申请人、信函作者和LOR语言特征之间的关系。结果获得面试机会的申请人（n = 129；占所有申请人的33%）更有可能持有alpha omega alpha会员资格，在外科轮转中获得荣誉，并且具有更高的step2分数。由内科医生撰写的lor比例较高与面试邀请相关（89.5% VS 66.3%, p <； 0.001），而所有年份中，来自普通外科医生的信件较少与面试邀请相关。至少有一名主席、主任、项目主任或轮岗信的存在与面试邀请有关。离职信的出现逐年增加，2023年有66%的申请人有离职信，而2021年这一比例为42% （p <； 0.001）。在提供面试机会的申请人的信中，18%的人更有可能提到教学（p <； 0.001），14.7%的人更有可能提到研究（p = 0.004），7.3%的人更有可能提到好奇心（p = 0.03），不同的申请人年份没有变化。面试者的信中较少提及能力（p = 0.02）和磨砺（p = 0.006）。结论获得VSIR面试的申请人更有可能表现出优秀的学术水平，并有来自VS和其他学校教师的信件；2021年后，在没有美国医疗执照考试第1步分数的情况下，这些协会得到了加强。lor的语言特征在整个申请周期中保持相对不变，教学和研究的重点仍然与面试机会有关。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Journal of Surgical Education EDUCATION, SCIENTIFIC DISCIPLINES-SURGERY

CiteScore

5.60

自引率

10.30%

发文量

261

审稿时长

48 days

期刊介绍： The Journal of Surgical Education (JSE) is dedicated to advancing the field of surgical education through original research. The journal publishes research articles in all surgical disciplines on topics relative to the education of surgical students, residents, and fellows, as well as practicing surgeons. Our readers look to JSE for timely, innovative research findings from the international surgical education community. As the official journal of the Association of Program Directors in Surgery (APDS), JSE publishes the proceedings of the annual APDS meeting held during Surgery Education Week.