PURPOSE
Consistent and effective career counseling is vital to student success
during the Match process. Preclinical faculty often take on an informal
advising role to students, so continued faculty development is needed to
remain up-to-date with program director (PD) expectations and perceptions.
For over a decade, a student's interest and productivity in research were
predicted to gain importance as a non-academic characteristic influencing the
Match. This proposed need for research was further heightened following the
2022 transition of the reporting of Step 1 outcomes. However, the question
remains: has research become more important in the Match?
METHODS
Using data from the National Residency Matching Program surveys of PDs and
MD seniors, we evaluated the changes in students' self-reported non-academic
experiences and outcomes along with PD perceptions of the importance of these
experiences when determining who to interview and rank.
RESULTS
Students have pushed for increased access to research, and analyses
revealed that post-2022 students reported markedly higher numbers of research
outcomes with only a small increase in the number of research experiences. At
the same time, PDs did not report a shift in their perception of student
research when evaluating candidates. Instead, PDs valued leadership and
service as increasingly more important during the selection process. This
change in PD perception coincided with a significant decline in the number of
student-reported service and leadership activities, suggesting a misalignment
of student and PD expectations.
CONCLUSIONS
Our findings demonstrate that research has not become the leading
non-academic characteristic in PD decision-making. Instead, PDs use a
holistic approach when evaluating candidates. Faculty need to be award of the
ever-changing PD expectations of service, leadership, and research so they
can advise a student in creating a complete and competitive residency
application.