There Is Increasing Osteopathic Representation Among Orthopaedic Sports Medicine Fellowship Applicants, in Addition to Increasing Match Rates, Whereas the Number of Female Applicants Remains Disproportionately Lower Than the Number of Women in Residency Programs

Abstract

Purpose

To evaluate trends in gender and degree type of applicants to sports medicine fellowships from 2012 to 2023 and the impact of these factors on match success.

Methods

San Francisco Matching Program (SF Match) data from 2012 to 2023 were extracted and analyzed. Data regarding number of applicants and match rates based on applicant degree and gender were evaluated. The Pearson correlation test was used to evaluate trends and proportions for the number of applicants and match rates. The Fisher exact test was used to compare the match rates of allopathic and osteopathic applicants, as well as male and female candidates.

Results

In total, there were 2,996 applicants for sports medicine fellowships from 2012 to 2023. There were 510 international medical graduates (17.1%) who were excluded from this analysis, leaving 2,486 applicants in the study cohort. There were 319 osteopathic applicants (12.8%) and 2,167 allopathic applicants (77.2%). Of the applicants, 265 (10.7%) were women and 2,221 (89.3%) were men. From 2012 to 2023, there was no significant difference in match rates between osteopathic and allopathic residents applying to sports medicine fellowships (P = .62). There was no statistically significant change in the match rate of male applicants over the study period (r = 0.45, P = .06). Female applicants matched at a slightly higher rate than male applicants (94.1% vs 91.4%), although this difference was not statistically significant (P = .13).

Conclusions

There was a significant increase in the number of osteopathic applicants and the match rate of osteopathic residents for orthopaedic sports medicine fellowships, whereas there was no statistically significant change in the number or match rate of allopathic residents. There was no difference in match rates between osteopathic and allopathic candidates nor was there a statistically significant difference in match rates between male and female applicants. However, the number of women applying to orthopaedic sports medicine fellowships remained slightly lower than the proportion of female residents over the study period.

Clinical Relevance

Understanding trends in gender and degree type among applicants to sports medicine fellowships, as well as their impact on match outcomes, may help identify potential disparities and inform strategies to promote equity and diversity in the sports medicine workforce.