A Leadership Perspective on the Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Residency Application Cycle During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Introduction: The purpose of this study was to identify leadership perspective on the impact of COVID-19 Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (PRS) residency application cycle in 2020 and its future implications. Methods: A survey was sent to residency program leaders (RPL), consisting of program dire...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2022-12-01
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| Series: | JPRAS Open |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352587822000778 |
| _version_ | 1811187538066407424 |
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| author | Abhishek Jain Geoffrey Brown H. Todd Hudson Ashish Patel Fernando A. Herrera |
| author_facet | Abhishek Jain Geoffrey Brown H. Todd Hudson Ashish Patel Fernando A. Herrera |
| author_sort | Abhishek Jain |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Introduction: The purpose of this study was to identify leadership perspective on the impact of COVID-19 Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (PRS) residency application cycle in 2020 and its future implications. Methods: A survey was sent to residency program leaders (RPL), consisting of program directors and division chiefs/chairs. The survey was sent weekly for 4 weeks and remained open for 28 days. Results: A total of 156 PRS RPL were emailed. Response rate was 24% (38/156). A total of 68% were division chiefs/chairs, and 42% were program directors. Ten percent were both division chiefs/chairs and program directors. Among them, 78% were male. Eighty-seven percent of RPLs reported changes in the number of away rotations, of which 91% reported less away rotations. Only 27% of programs provided virtual away rotations (VAR), and 88% of RPLs were not comfortable writing letters of recommendation after VARs. Hundred percent of cases reported that VARs influenced whether an applicant received an interview. A total of 24 RPLs (63%) reported no changes in how they viewed applications due to the pandemic. However, 5 (13%) reported USMLE scores were more important, 4 (11%) reported research was more important, and 4 (11%) reported LORs were more important. Sixty-six percent did not feel they relied heavily on home institution candidates. Seventy-six percent found virtual interviews to be effective in evaluating applicants, and 71% reported they would add virtual interviews in future interviews. Conclusions: During the 2020-2021 PRS residency application cycle, fewer away rotations were offered, and formerly in-person activities were moved to virtual platforms. Virtual activities caused difficulty assessing candidates for many residency programs. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T14:04:59Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-93c27b2399b341329729c20bdf11460d |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2352-5878 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T14:04:59Z |
| publishDate | 2022-12-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | JPRAS Open |
| spelling | doaj.art-93c27b2399b341329729c20bdf11460d2022-12-22T04:19:56ZengElsevierJPRAS Open2352-58782022-12-0134219225A Leadership Perspective on the Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Residency Application Cycle During the COVID-19 PandemicAbhishek Jain0Geoffrey Brown1H. Todd Hudson2Ashish Patel3Fernando A. Herrera4College of Medicine, Medical University of South Carolina, SC 29425, CharlestonDivision of Plastic Surgery, Medical University of South Carolina, SC, 29425, CharlestonCollege of Medicine, Medical University of South Carolina, SC 29425, Charleston; Division of Plastic Surgery, Medical University of South Carolina, SC, 29425, CharlestonDivision of Plastic Surgery, Medical University of South Carolina, SC, 29425, CharlestonCollege of Medicine, Medical University of South Carolina, SC 29425, Charleston; Division of Plastic Surgery, Medical University of South Carolina, SC, 29425, Charleston; Ralph H Johnson Veterans Affairs Medical Center, SC 29425, Charleston; Corresponding author: Fernando A. Herrera, Professor of Surgery, Medical University of South Carolina, 96 Jonathan Lucas St, CSB 404, Charleston, SC 29425.Introduction: The purpose of this study was to identify leadership perspective on the impact of COVID-19 Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (PRS) residency application cycle in 2020 and its future implications. Methods: A survey was sent to residency program leaders (RPL), consisting of program directors and division chiefs/chairs. The survey was sent weekly for 4 weeks and remained open for 28 days. Results: A total of 156 PRS RPL were emailed. Response rate was 24% (38/156). A total of 68% were division chiefs/chairs, and 42% were program directors. Ten percent were both division chiefs/chairs and program directors. Among them, 78% were male. Eighty-seven percent of RPLs reported changes in the number of away rotations, of which 91% reported less away rotations. Only 27% of programs provided virtual away rotations (VAR), and 88% of RPLs were not comfortable writing letters of recommendation after VARs. Hundred percent of cases reported that VARs influenced whether an applicant received an interview. A total of 24 RPLs (63%) reported no changes in how they viewed applications due to the pandemic. However, 5 (13%) reported USMLE scores were more important, 4 (11%) reported research was more important, and 4 (11%) reported LORs were more important. Sixty-six percent did not feel they relied heavily on home institution candidates. Seventy-six percent found virtual interviews to be effective in evaluating applicants, and 71% reported they would add virtual interviews in future interviews. Conclusions: During the 2020-2021 PRS residency application cycle, fewer away rotations were offered, and formerly in-person activities were moved to virtual platforms. Virtual activities caused difficulty assessing candidates for many residency programs.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352587822000778COVIDResidency MatchPlastic Surgery Applicants |
| spellingShingle | Abhishek Jain Geoffrey Brown H. Todd Hudson Ashish Patel Fernando A. Herrera A Leadership Perspective on the Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Residency Application Cycle During the COVID-19 Pandemic JPRAS Open COVID Residency Match Plastic Surgery Applicants |
| title | A Leadership Perspective on the Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Residency Application Cycle During the COVID-19 Pandemic |
| title_full | A Leadership Perspective on the Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Residency Application Cycle During the COVID-19 Pandemic |
| title_fullStr | A Leadership Perspective on the Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Residency Application Cycle During the COVID-19 Pandemic |
| title_full_unstemmed | A Leadership Perspective on the Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Residency Application Cycle During the COVID-19 Pandemic |
| title_short | A Leadership Perspective on the Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Residency Application Cycle During the COVID-19 Pandemic |
| title_sort | leadership perspective on the plastic and reconstructive surgery residency application cycle during the covid 19 pandemic |
| topic | COVID Residency Match Plastic Surgery Applicants |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352587822000778 |
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