Abstract
Objective The aim of this study is to investigate the prevalence of post-interview communication
(PIC) during the ophthalmology residency match process and its impact on program directors'
(PD's) ranking of applicants.
Design Prospective cross-sectional survey.
Methods An anonymous, online survey was emailed to the PD of each ophthalmology residency
program accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education.
Results Fifty-four percent (63/116) of PDs completed the survey. Eighty-five percent (54/63)
of PDs received PIC from applicants or applicants' faculty mentors during the 2018
to 2019 application cycle; 62% (39/63) received PIC regarding >25% of applicants interviewed.
Although 41% (26/63) of PDs reported they would likely rank an applicant higher due
to PIC endorsement from a faculty mentor known to the PD, only 3% (2/63) believed
that applicants who did not have a faculty mentor conduct PIC on their behalf were
disadvantaged. Fourteen percent (9/63) of PDs reported they would likely rank an applicant
higher due to PIC endorsement from a faculty mentor unknown to the PD, and 3% (2/63)
reported they would likely rank an applicant higher as a result of PIC from the applicant.
Conclusion There is a high prevalence of PIC during the ophthalmology residency match process.
The potential impact of PIC on PDs' ranking of applicants varies according to whether
the PIC is from a faculty member known to the PD, a faculty member unknown to the
PD, or the applicant. This may disadvantage applicants without faculty mentors known
to PDs.
Keywords
residency - post-interview communication - survey - San Francisco Match - match -
interview - medical student - prevalence - impact - mentor - faculty mentor
