Do Orthopaedic Residency Programs Have the Least Time Between Invitation and Interview?

Abstract

Background The cost and stress of applying to residency programs are increasing. Planning for interviews with limited lead time can cause additional burden to residency applicants. Objective We sought to determine if the specialty of orthopaedics was affording the same lead time between interview invitation and interview dates as its surgical and medical counterparts. Methods Dates for the first interview invitation and last possible interview were gathered for each program in orthopaedic surgery, general surgery, otolaryngology, vascular surgery, plastic surgery, neurological surgery, internal medicine, psychiatry, pediatrics, and family medicine. Interview lead time was calculated for each specialty. Mann–Whitney U and independent sample Kruskal-Wallis tests were used for nonparametric data with P < .05 considered as significant. Results Orthopaedic surgery lead time is significantly different when compared individually and pairwise to other specialties (P