Table 2.
Statistical analysis of survey responses
| Number of residency programs applied to | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| n (%) | Mean (SD) | p | |
| Gender (n=140) | |||
| Male | 116 (82.9) | 79.5 (28.5) | 0.94a |
| Female | 24 (17.1) | 80.0 (23.3) | |
| Age (n=140) | |||
| < 27 | 75 (53.6) | 76.6 (22.0) | 0.33b |
| 27–28 | 44 (31.4) | 84.7 (31.5) | |
| > 28 | 21 (15.0) | 79.6 (35.5) | |
| Region of origin (n=140) | |||
| Northeast/Southeast/Mid-Atlantic | 52 (37.1) | 83.0 (32.0) | 0.46c |
| Midwest | 61 (43.6) | 80.6 (21.4) | |
| Southwest/West/Northwest | 19 (13.6) | 70.6 (18.7) | |
| Non-contiguous 48/International | 8 (5.7) | 62.9 (51.6) | |
| Reason not applying to more programs (n=132) | |||
| Cost | 52 (39.4) | 70.1 (22.5)* | 0.004c |
| Interest | 15 (11.4) | 71.7 (16.6)** | |
| Location | 23 (17.4) | 81.1 (24.2) | |
| Successful match | 30 (22.7) | 76.2 (23.1) | |
| Other | 12 (9.1) | 111.8 (44.7)*,** | |
| Reason for not applying to fewer programs (n=138) | |||
| Competitive residency | 21 (15.2) | 86.6 (29.5) | 0.83c |
| Cost versus benefit | 5 (3.6) | 67.8 (34.1) | |
| Fear of not enough interviews/not matching | 76 (55.1) | 78.8 (25.4) | |
| Recommended number | 8 (5.8) | 72.0 (9.7) | |
| Other | 28 (20.3) | 82.7 (32.2) | |
| Couples match (n=139) | |||
| Yes | 13 (9.4) | 82.9 (31.3) | 0.97d |
| No | 126 (90.6) | 79.1 (27.7) | |
| AOA (n=140) | |||
| Yes | 43 (30.7) | 75.0 (23.5) | 0.12c |
| No | 82 (58.6) | 80.6 (29.8) | |
| No AOA at school | 15 (10.7) | 82.6 (30.3) | |
| Applicant competitiveness | |||
| Poor | 8 (5.7) | 81.3 (27.3) | 0.001c |
| Average | 32 (22.7) | 94.6 (26.7)* | |
| Good | 70 (49.6) | 73.0 (22.4)* | |
| Outstanding | 31 (22.0) | 76.4 (35.0)* | |
| Other graduate degree | |||
| Yes | 27 (19.1) | 81.7 (25.1) | 0.59a |
| No | 114 (80.9) | 78.5 (28.6) | |
| Medical school with OR program (n=140) | |||
| Yes | 126 (90.0) | 79.4 (26.7) | 0.61d |
| No | 14 (10.0) | 80.3 (37.5) | |
| Honors in medicine rotation | |||
| Yes | 70 (49.6) | 76.9 (27.9) | 0.36c |
| No | 56 (39.7) | 81.3 (27.8) | |
| No honors at school | 15 (10.6) | 81.3 (29.6) | |
| Honors in surgery rotation | |||
| Yes | 72 (51.1) | 79.8 (28.4) | 0.93c |
| No | 54 (38.3) | 77.9 (27.2) | |
| No honors at school | 15 (10.6) | 80.4 (29.8) | |
| Number of work experiences (n=140) | |||
| 0–1 | 29 (20.7) | 78.3 (27.7) | 0.90e |
| 2–3 | 49 (35.0) | 77.5 (28.6) | |
| 4–5 | 38 (27.1) | 79.5 (26.8) | |
| > 5 | 24 (17.1) | 82.6 (30.3) | |
| Number of research experiences (n=140) | |||
| 0–1 | 13 (9.3) | 64.5 (46.8) | 0.06c |
| 2–3 | 60 (42.9) | 74.9 (23.4) | |
| 4–5 | 42 (30.0) | 79.6 (18.7) | |
| > 5 | 25 (17.9) | 95.8 (32.5) | |
| Number of away OR completed | |||
| 0–1 | 10 (7.1) | 58.4 (40.8)*** | 0.03c |
| 2 | 71 (50.4) | 76.4 (24.6) | |
| > 2 | 60 (42.6) | 85.9 (27.4)*** | |
| Number of away OR completed outside of region | |||
| 0 | 36 (25.5) | 78.2 (27.7) | 0.61e |
| 1 | 43 (30.5) | 76.2 (25.2) | |
| 2 | 42 (29.8) | 79.5 (31.5) | |
| > 2 | 20 (14.2) | 86.4 (26.8) | |
| Number of abstracts, publications, and presentations (n=140) | |||
| 0–1 | 32 (22.9) | 72.3 (28.3) | 0.16e |
| 2–4 | 45 (32.1) | 77.6 (27.0) | |
| 5–7 | 30 (21.4) | 78.9 (20.8) | |
| > 7 | 33 (23.6) | 87.7 (33.4) | |
| USMLE Step 1 score (n=140) | |||
| < 237 | 35 (25.0) | 84.5 (35.5) | 0.24e |
| 237–244 | 36 (25.7) | 83.1 (27.2) | |
| 245–252 | 37 (26.4) | 74.7 (20.3) | |
| > 252 | 32 (22.9) | 73.6 (26.7) | |
| USMLE Step 2 CK score (n=121) | |||
| < 239 | 30 (24.8) | 86.5 (40.4) | 0.22b |
| 240–250 | 31 (25.6) | 79.7 (18.7) | |
| 251–261 | 35 (28.9) | 81.3 (29.0) | |
| > 262 | 25 (20.7) | 70.4 (23.1) | |
AOA, Alpha Omega Alpha; CK, clinical knowledge; SD, standard deviation; USMLE, United States Medical Licensing Exam.
a
Significance (p) is based on Independent samples t-test
b
One-way ANOVA with Welch correction due to unequal variances
c
Kruskal–Wallis test due to non-normality or low counts
d
Mann–Whitney due to non-normality or low counts
e
One-way ANOVA. Post-Hoc Tests were adjusted for multiple comparisons.
*
Pairwise statistically significant <0.01
**
pairwise statistically significant <0.05
***
pairwise statistically significant <0.10.