Use of Standardized Letters of Recommendation for Orthopaedic Surgery Residency Applications

Abstract

Introduction ii Copyright ©2018 NRMP. Reproduction prohibited without the written permission of the NRMP. Background The first edition of Charting Outcomes in the Match was published in August 2006 to document how applicant qualifications affect success in the Main Residency Match®. The report was published biennially between and 2011 and was a collaboration of the National Resident Matching Program® (NRMP®) and the Association of American Medical Colleges® (AAMC®). Match outcome data from the NRMP were combined with applicant characteristics from the AAMC's Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS®) and United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE®) scores from the AAMC data warehouse. In 2014, NRMP added a Professional Profile section to its Match registration process to collect USMLE scores and other applicant characteristics and those have been used to independently publish all subsequent Charting Outcomes in the Match reports. Prior to 2016, this report examined the Match success of only two applicant groups: senior students from U.S. allopathic medical schools and independent applicants. Independent applicants included all applicant types other than U.S. seniors: previous graduates of U.S. allopathic medical schools, students/graduates of osteopathic medical schools, students/graduates of Fifth Pathway programs, students/graduates of Canadian medical schools, and U.S. citizen and non-U.S. citizen students/graduates of international medical schools. Because independent applicants are a heterogeneous group, a decision was made in 2016 to report data separately for U.S. allopathic medical school seniors, students/graduates of osteopathic medical schools, U.S. citizen students/graduates of international medical schools, and non-U.S. citizen students/graduates of international medical schools. In 2018, senior students of osteopathic medical schools are reported separately, and there is no report for osteopathic medical school graduates because their numbers are so small. This report examines the characteristics of U.S. allopathic seniors.

Race- and Gender-Based Differences in Descriptions of Applicants in the Letters of Recommendation for Orthopaedic Surgery Residency

“…Although studies on gender differences in LOR to orthopaedic surgery have been performed previously 20 , 21 , there are no previous studies evaluating racial differences in LOR in orthopaedic surgery. Day et al 22 found that Asian American, African American, Hispanic, and Latino residents constituted only 19.8% of orthopaedic surgery residents in 2006, which was significantly lower than that found in general surgery.…”

Linguistic Biases in Letters of Recommendation for Radiation Oncology Residency Applicants from 2015 to 2019

“…Some opportunities for improvement include the implementation of implicit bias training for both members of residency selection committees as well as faculty who are asked to write LORs. Standardized LORs which have been adopted by emergency medicine [11], orthopedic surgery [31], and otolaryngology [32] are other means to increase objectivity in the application but do have the caveats of a limited narrative and fewer opportunities to disclose specific skills or anecdotes. Others in RO have been outspoken about deemphasizing "away" rotations and faculty LORs to create a more even playing field across students of varying socioeconomic backgrounds [33].…”

How Did Coronavirus-19 Impact the Expenses for Medical Students Applying to an Orthopaedic Surgery Residency in 2020 to 2021?

“…In 2020, the coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic added an unforeseen complication to the orthopaedic residency match [1,7]. Although much of the application process remained unchanged, including the importance of board examination scores (this is scheduled to change in January 2022, when the United States Medical Licensing Examination [USMLE] Step 1 will convert to pass-fail scoring), clinical grades, and letters of recommendation, away rotation and in-person interview performance were not available during 2021 [5,8,18,21,25,31,33,34,37]. During the pandemic, the Association of American Medical Colleges [2] and Council of Orthopaedic Residency Directors [6] recommended that orthopaedic surgery residency programs cancel away rotations and in-person interviews for the 2021 residency application cycle.…”