• Arash Fereydooni, Joel L Ramirez, Katherine L Morrow, Sabina Sorondo, Jason T Lee, Dawn M Coleman, and Venita Chandra.
• Division of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery, Department of Surgery, Stanford University Medical Center, Stanford, CA.
• J. Vasc. Surg. 2021 Jun 28.

ObjectiveIntegrated vascular surgery residency (IVSR) applicant perspective about the Match process has been rarely studied, yet has important implications on trainee recruitment. We sought to better understand the nature of the interview process, and post-interview communication and its impact on students' ranking choices.MethodsA voluntary and anonymous survey was sent to students who matched to IVSR in 2020, inquiring about interviews, post-interview communications and factors influencing students' rank-lists.Results70 of the 73 matched students completed the survey (96% response rate; 23 female and 47 male). Applicants reported they were asked questions about other programs of interest (81.4%), top choice programs (65.7%), marital-status (32.9%), family-planning (7.1%) and religion (1.4%) during interviews. Female applicants were more frequently asked questions about family-planning (17.4% vs 2.1%; P<.01) and marital-status (52.5% vs 23.4%; P <.01) compared to male applicants. After interviews, 92.9% of applicants notified their top choice program of their ranking preference. 61.4% of applicants received post-interview communication with regards to ranking from at least one program, initiated by program directors in 81.3% of instances. Among these applicants, 58.1% reported that the post-interview communication had an impact on their rank-list and 46.5% matched at a program by which they were contacted. 5.7% of applicants were asked by a program to reveal their ranking of the program and 11.4% were promised by a program to be ranked first if the applicant reciprocally ranked them first. Female and male applicants weighed program culture, operative volume, mentorship and prestige equally in making their rank-list. Male applicants weighed the sub-internship experience more significantly; however, female applicants weighed the sub-internship experience, personal relationships in certain cities, dedicated professional development years and large female representation in the program more heavily (P<.02).ConclusionsThis study provides insight into the interview experience and impactful factors for the vascular surgery match. Both female and male applicants were asked a high number of questions about personal matters unrelated to medical school performance. Female applicants, however, experienced a higher proportion of these instances, particularly regarding family-planning. These findings demonstrate the factors that are important to applicants in the match process and raises awareness of potential challenges in the interview and recruitment process.Copyright © 2021. Published by Elsevier Inc.

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