Bridging the Gap: How to Get Osteopathic Residents Into Fellowships

Abstract

The fellowship match process is convoluted, with each specialty having its match on its timeline-with some programs having a Post Graduate Year (PGY) 4 th -year or 5 th -year match.This study aims to identify tangible recommendations for osteopathic surgery residents to use to improve their applications and, ultimately, the success rate for matching into post-graduate fellowship training. MethodsIn October 2021, as a part of the American College of Osteopathic Surgeons (ACOS) Strategic Planning efforts, the ACOS Resident Student Section sent a questionnaire to the listed email contact for each surgical fellowship program. Fellowship coordinators and program directors were included in the survey. The programs that were included in the study were vascular, thoracic (which included cardiothoracic), surgical critical care, endocrine, hepatobiliary, transplant, pediatric, surgical oncology, breast, minimally invasive, and colorectal surgery. ResultsOf the 108 programs that answered the survey, 36% of them reported they currently had an osteopathic fellow, and another 29% said they had an osteopathic fellow in the past. 35% of the programs listed that they had never had an osteopathic fellow in their program.In regards to how residents can improve their application for fellowship matches the most common answer was research in the field, they were trying to match into. They wanted to see high scores on the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) and American Board of Surgery In-Training Examination (ABSITE) exams. They also noted that they wanted candidates from more well know residency programs, where they knew the residents would have gotten good training. ConclusionWe recommend that any potential fellowship applicant focus on the following three areas increase competitiveness for matching into fellowship training: publication in the desired field, increased overall scholarly activity, and increased ABSITE scores.

Assessing interest in cardiothoracic surgery at an osteopathic medical school: Results of an institutional survey

“…Recent work demonstrates that most programs consider that osteopathic surgery residents are competitive with allopathic residents when applying to fellowship programs. 10 In addition, a recent study noted that allopathic and osteopathic orthopedic surgery residents scored similarly on in-training examinations. 11 Osteopathic medical students and residents may be a market of untapped potential that may be worth exploring as more surgeons are needed in the workforce.…”

Colon and Rectal Surgery Fellowship Applicant and Matching Trends in the United States: An Analysis of National Resident Matching Program Data

“…It may partly be a result of false preconceptions of program leadership regarding the competence, communication skills, and administrative abilities of individuals from some of these groups or concerns regarding the academic impression and thus appeal of the program for "competitive" applicants in future fellowship cycles. [10][11][12] Nonetheless, previously published data on fellowship match for DO applicants point toward research experience and publications, in-training exam performance, and scholarly activity as important predictors of a favorable match outcome. 11 The major strength of our study is that this is the first study in recent years to investigate CRS fellowship trends using detailed NRMP data and provides a unique overview of the CRS fellowship landscape over a decade and a half.…”