In Step or Out of Sync? Analyzing Gender Variances in Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Fellowship Match Rates

Category: Other Introduction/Purpose: Previous literature has noted that a higher proportion of females than males matched into all orthopaedic surgery fellowships from 2010-2014. However, this has not been investigated specifically in regards to foot and ankle fellowships or with more recent match data. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to evaluate the trends in applicant gender for orthopaedic surgery foot and ankle fellowships over the last 11 years and to evaluate the differences in match rates between male and female applicants. Methods: San Francisco Match from 2013 to 2023 was analyzed. There were 986 applicants for foot and ankle fellowships from 2013-2023. There were 395 (40.1%) international medical graduates who were excluded from this analysis, leaving 591 applicants in the study cohort. There were 126 female applicants (21.3%) and 465 Male applicants (78.7%). The gender, number of applicants, and number of matched applicants into orthopaedic foot and ankle fellowship was reviewed. In addition, trends regarding number of applicants and match rates based on gender were evaluated. Results: Female applicants ranged from a low of 6 in 2013 to a high of 14 in 2023, (mean 11.5+/- 2.8) with no statistically significant change (r=0.4, p=0.097). Match rate for female applicants increased from a low of 76.9% (10 of 13) in 2017 to 100.0% (14 of 14) in 2022, (mean 92.1% +/- 8.7%), with no statistically significant change (r=0.45, p=0.07). Male applicants ranged from a low of 32 in 2023 to a high of 58 in 2014 (mean 42.3 +/- 8.0), with a significant decrease (r=-0.89, p=0.00004). Match rate for male applicants ranged from a low of 86.5% (45 of 52) in 2013 to a high of 100.0% (32 of 32) in 2023 (mean 95.1% +/- 4.9%), with a significant increase (r=0.95, p=0.000002). Conclusion: Since 2013, there has been no statistical significant change in the number of female applicants and female applicant match rate for orthopaedic foot and ankle fellowship. The number of male applicants experienced a significant decrease over the study period, with a significant increase in match rate. Although male applicants had a slightly higher match rate than female applicants, there was no statistical significant difference.