Comparative Evaluation of the Electronic Residency Application Service Versus the Plastic Surgery Common Application to a Single Institution in the 2022 Integrated Plastic Surgery Match

Background: The Plastic Surgery Central Application (PSCA), designed to provide an equitable and streamlined application for both applicants and programs, was first designed in 2019, piloted in the 2020–21 application cycle, and is now in its fourth cycle in 2023–24. It has included preference signaling since the 2022–23 cycle, a feature in which applicants can send five “signals” to programs to express interest. We surveyed both program directors (PDs) and applicants following the 2023 match on their perceptions of PSCA versus Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS). Methods: Surveys were deployed to applicants from three integrated plastic surgery programs during the 2022–23 cycle and all PDs. Respondents were asked basic demographic information, which application system they preferred: PSCA or ERAS, how well they were able to highlight/evaluate different areas of the application, and about their experiences specifically with preference signaling. Results: Forty-two (48%) PDs and 93 (29%) applicants responded. Most PDs (72%) and applicants (59%) preferred PSCA, with only 18% and 27% preferring ERAS. The remainder had no preference. Ninety-three percent of applicants reported that the cost savings of the PSCA were important. Most applicants (78%) and PDs (80%) were in favor or strongly in favor of the preference signaling program. Conclusions: Most applicants and PDs prefer PSCA over ERAS. These data, in conjunction with the cost savings, suggest that the PSCA may be a better alternative for the integrated plastic surgery match. Future analyses of these application systems will help provide the best application for prospective residents.

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

The Plastic Surgery Central Application versus ERAS: Which is Preferred?

Sarac,

Jackson,

Schwartz

et al. 2024

“…It can also be cost prohibitive to apply. In plastic surgery, the Plastic Surgery Common Application [33][34][35] was developed to address these issues and allow for a less cost prohibitive and more holistic approach to applicant review.…”

Section: Step 4: Create An Effective Scoring Rubric Based On the Divi...mentioning

confidence: 99%

A Practical Guide to Implementing Holistic Review during Surgery Resident Selection

Reghunathan,

Thompson,

Sendek

et al. 2023

Summary: Provider workforce diversity is a key component of improving healthcare quality and addressing healthcare disparities. Furthermore, the traditional approach of “score-centered” application metrics do not consistently correlate with meeting milestones in surgery, nor do they adequately predict a surgical resident’s clinical strength and operative abilities. We present here an adaptable process by which surgical residency programs can identify their values and incorporate holistic review into their resident selection process to improve resident selection and physician workforce diversity.

“…Further still, the transition to the Plastic Surgery Common Application, which offers a customizable, specialty-specific application format, may facilitate this by emphasizing more humanistic traits (eg, through behavioral-style questions) and de-emphasizing others (eg, research productivity through emphasis of three most impactful publications). [38][39][40][41]…”

Section: How To Discern Key Attributes In the Residency Applicationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Deconstructing the Excellent Plastic Surgeon: A Survey of Key Attributes

Sendek,

Blum,

Reghunathan

et al. 2023

Background: Most plastic surgeons practice in nonacademic settings, leaving a small subset of academic plastic surgeons with the responsibility of selecting the future generation of plastic surgeons without representation from a majority of our field. This raises questions as to whether the academic attributes valued during residency selection are valid predictive markers of who will become an excellent plastic surgeon. A survey was conducted of both academic and nonacademic plastic surgeons, as well as trainees, to determine what traits are considered most essential to being an excellent plastic surgeon. Methods: An electronic survey was distributed before the American Council of Academic Plastic Surgeons 10th Annual Winter Meeting. Demographics and information regarding the respondents’ training and academic status were collected. Respondents were asked to select five traits that they considered most important to be an excellent plastic surgeon from a list of 20 preselected traits. Chi-square and Fisher exact tests were used to perform subgroup analyses. Results: A total of 187 responses were received from meeting attendees, representing an 89.0% response rate. Overall, the five values endorsed as most important for a plastic surgeon were being technically sound (53%), collaborative (48%), ethical (44%), compassionate (37%), and emotionally intelligent (33%). However, the emphasis placed on these different attributes differed significantly amongst different demographic groups. Conclusion: It is important that we use methods such as holistic review when evaluating plastic surgery applicants to ensure our selection process is congruent with the traits we value.