title: Surgical Residency Recruitment-Opportunities for Improvement.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The Association of Program Directors in Surgery convened a panel during Surgical Education Week 2016 to discuss the current state of the general surgery residency application process and to review alternative ways to evaluate the suitability of each applicant to a residency program.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Over 40,000 applicants registered for the National Resident Matching Program's 2016 Main Residency Match. General Surgery had 2345 applicants for 1241 categorical postgraduate year (PGY)-1 positions, and 1239 of those positions were filled when the matching algorithm was processed. Program Directors reported that only 33% of applications received an in-depth review, and 62% were rejected with minimal review. Eventually (after all applications had been reviewed), only 13% of applicants were invited to interview.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  There are several opportunities for improvement within the current application process. These included standardized letter of recommendation and personal statements, refinement of the interview process, and recalibration of the Medical Student Performance Evaluation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Einstein Healthcare Network, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Electronic address: joshiam@einstein.edu.
authors.forename: Amit R T
authors.initials: ART
authors.lastname: Joshi
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, Utah.
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Vargo
authors.affiliation: Electronic Residency Application Service, Association of American Medical Colleges, Washington, DC.
authors.forename: Amy
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mathis
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Medicine, Georgetown University School of Medicine, Washington, DC.
authors.forename: Jeffrey N
authors.initials: JN
authors.lastname: Love
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Einstein Healthcare Network, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
authors.forename: Teena
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Dhir
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, University of Minnesota Medical School, Duluth, Minnesota.
authors.forename: Paula M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Termuhlen
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002321:Career Choice; D004503:Education, Medical, Graduate / Q000458:organization & administration*; D005260:Female; D013502:General Surgery / Q000193:education*; D006801:Humans; D007586:Job Application; D008297:Male; D020380:Needs Assessment; D010560:Personnel Selection / Q000379:methods*; D012577:Schools, Medical; D013337:Students, Medical / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014481:United States
keywords: ERAS; Interpersonal and Communication Skills; MSPE; Professionalism; standardized letter of recommendation; surgery