Examining the Aftermath of Virtual Interviewing on Surgical Residency Matches

Residency interviews have traditionally been conducted in person; however, COVID-19 forced programs to shift to virtual interviewing. This study delineated the nationwide trends observed after virtual interviewing across multiple application cycles on both surgical residency applicant competitiveness and program workload. Publicly available National Residency Matching Program applicant and program data were retrospectively reviewed. Applicant competitiveness was assessed using a validated competitive index (# positions ranked/match rate). Interview types included in-person (2010-2020) or virtual (2021-2023), and programs were classified as general surgery (GS), surgical subspecialty (SS) – orthopedics, otolaryngology and neurosurgery, and integrated specialty (IS) – plastic, thoracic, and vascular surgery. When comparing in-person to virtual cohorts, the competitive index has increased in GS (0.97 ± 0.00 to 1.05 ± 0.01, P