title: The effort and outcomes of the Pediatric Surgery match process: Are we interviewing too many?
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Increasing numbers of programs participating in the pediatric surgery match has resulted in economic and logistical issues for candidates, General Surgery residencies, and Pediatric Surgery training programs (PSTP). We sought to determine the ideal number of interviews conducted by programs based on resultant rank order lists (ROL) of matched candidates.
  
  
  METHODS
  PSTPs received 4 online surveys regarding interview practices (2011-2012, 2014), and matched candidate ROL (2008-2010, 2012, 2014). Program directors (PD) also provided estimates regarding minimum candidate interview numbers necessary for an effective match (2011-2012, 2014). Kruskal-Wallis equality-of-populations rank tests compared ROL and interview numbers conducted. Quartile regression predicted ROL based on the interview numbers. Wilcoxon signed rank-sum tests compared the interview numbers to the minimal interview number using a matched pair. p Values<0.05 were significant.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Survey response rates ranged from 85-100%. Median ROL of matched candidates (2-3.5) did not differ between programs (p=0.09) and the lowest matched ROL for any year was 10-12. Interview numbers did not affect the final candidate ROL (p=0.22). While PDs thought the minimum median interview number should be 20, the number actually conducted was significantly higher (p<0.001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These data suggest that PSTPs interview excessive numbers of candidates. Programs and applicants should evaluate mechanisms to reduce interviews to limit costs and effort associated with the match.
authors.affiliation: Division of Pediatric Surgery, Department of Surgery, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA. Electronic address: samirg@med.umich.edu.
authors.forename: Samir K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Gadepalli
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY, USA.
authors.forename: Cynthia D
authors.initials: CD
authors.lastname: Downard
authors.affiliation: Division of Pediatric Surgery, Department of Surgery, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
authors.forename: Keith A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Thatch
authors.affiliation: Division of Pediatric Surgery, Department of Surgery, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA.
authors.forename: Saleem
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Islam
authors.affiliation: Division of Pediatric Surgery, Department of Surgery, Oregon Health & Sciences University, Portland, OR, USA.
authors.forename: Kenneth S
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Azarow
authors.affiliation: Division of Pediatric Surgery, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA.
authors.forename: Mike K
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Children's Hospital Boston, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Craig W
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Lillehei
authors.affiliation: Division of Pediatric General and Thoracic Surgery, The Montreal Children's Hospital, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
authors.forename: Pramod S
authors.initials: PS
authors.lastname: Puligandla
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA.
authors.forename: Marleta
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Reynolds
authors.affiliation: Division of Pediatric General and Thoracic Surgery, Department of Surgery, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.
authors.forename: John H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Waldhausen
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatric Surgery, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, USA.
authors.forename: Keith T
authors.initials: KT
authors.lastname: Oldham
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, TN, USA.
authors.forename: Max R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Langham
authors.affiliation: Division of Pediatric Surgery, Department of Surgery, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA.
authors.forename: Thomas F
authors.initials: TF
authors.lastname: Tracy
authors.affiliation: Division of Pediatric Surgery, Department of Surgery, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
authors.forename: Ronald B
authors.initials: RB
authors.lastname: Hirschl
mesh_terms: D003365:Costs and Cost Analysis; D006801:Humans; D007396:Internship and Residency; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D010372:Pediatrics / Q000193:education*; D012570:School Admission Criteria / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D013043:Specialties, Surgical / Q000193:education*; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: Education; Interview burden; Pediatric Surgery Fellowship; Pediatric Surgery Match; Program directors; Rank list