The use of virtual interviews in orthopaedic residency programs and how it affects applicants

Abstract

To the Editor, As aspiring orthopaedic surgery residents rapidly approaching the National Match, we are very interested in recent trends in the application process. As we are aware that admission into these programs is highly competitive, we recently read the article "The Use of Virtual Interviews and New Trends in Orthopedic Surgery Residency Match" by Metrione et. al with great interest. 1 This article attributes the recent switch to virtual interviews following the COVID-19 pandemic to an increased proportion of students matching into their medical school-affiliated residency programs compared to applicants in previous years when interviews were conducted in person.Regarding the increased likelihood of matching at medical school-affiliated residency programs following the transition to virtual interviews, this trend was partially attributed to applicants in the 2020−2021 National Match being unable to attend away rotations due the pandemic. As such, it would be interesting to see if this trend continued in subsequent years as applicants were able to resume away rotations as pandemic restrictions have loosened.