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BACKGROUND There has been a relatively rapid increase in the number and size of "integrated" residency programs in plastic surgery (PS) over the past decade. The objective of this study is to evaluate trends of US senior applicants of PS compared with other surgical specialties from 2007 to 2016. METHODS Data were obtained from "NRMP: Main Residency Match" and from "NRMP: Charting Outcomes in the Match." Frequencies, percentages, and proportions were calculated for categorical variables. Odds ratios with 95% confidence interval were calculated to evaluate the relationship of Alpha Omega Alpha membership and match success. RESULTS The overall National Resident Matching Program match rate ranged from 93.1% to 95.1%, but rates were lower for surgical specialties, ranging from 74.7% to 86.6% in 2016. From 2008 to 2016, PS had a relatively high growth rate in the number of positions (65.2%) from 2008 to 2016. Matched PS and Otolaryngology applicants routinely had the highest mean United States Medical Licensing Examination Step 1 and Step 2 Clinical Knowledge scores. Alpha Omega Alpha membership has a significant impact on successfully matching into a surgical specialty (P < 0.1). Matched applicants of surgical subspecialties (PS, Otolaryngology, orthopedics, and neurosurgery) had similar mean number of research, work, and volunteer experiences. However, PS and neurosurgery matched applicants had notably higher mean research productivity. CONCLUSIONS The rapid increase in the number of positions in PS residency training has not resulted in a decrease in caliber of matched applicants, even though match rates have dramatically increased. Currently, PS continues to attract and successfully match highly qualified applicants, but other surgical specialties have increasingly similar board scores and mean number of extracurricular experiences.

BACKGROUND Matching into a plastic surgery (PS) residency program is a highly competitive process. Selection criteria are very stringent and may influence an applicant's candidacy and application strategy. The purpose of this study was to evaluate recent trends of applicants matching into integrated PS programs using published National Resident Match Program data. METHODS Residency match data were gathered for application years 2002 to 2011 using the National Resident Match Program/Association of American Medical Colleges databases. Analyses were limited to the US senior group and excluded the non-US senior group because of the small numbers in the latter group. For all data sets, a logistic regression was performed to analyze the statistical significance of the data. RESULTS The overall match rate continues to approximately 50%. United States senior applicants were more likely to rank PS only versus PS and others (PS + other) over time (P < 0.0001) with an odds ratio of 1.2 per year (P < 0.0001). For any given year, US senior applicants ranking PS only were more likely to match versus US senior applicants ranking PS + other (odds ratio, 1.71; P < 0.0001). If this trend continues, it is expected that by 2022, 90% of US senior applicants will rank PS only. CONCLUSIONS The proportion of applicants ranking PS only is steadily rising. The ranking strategy used by US senior applicants is self-selecting into a more competitive (PS only) and less competitive (PS + other) applicant pool. If this continues, nearly 50% of applicants will not match and could be left scrambling for an alternative residency position. These findings therefore suggest that all candidates, regardless of their perceived application strength, should consider having a "backup plan."

BACKGROUND It is well known that the ideal method of creating rank lists for the match is the "true-preference" strategy. However, there is anecdotal and survey-based evidence that programs and applicants often deviate from this strategy. We analyzed rank lists of applicants and programs participating in the Plastic Surgery San Francisco Match to investigate whether programs were following an optimal strategy. METHODS We obtained deidentified program and applicant rank lists and their match results from SF Match for 4 years (2010-2013). Statistical analysis was carried out with Microsoft Excel. RESULTS The number of applicants, applications submitted, interviews offered, and match rate were all relatively stable over this 4-year period (range, 117-138 applicants, 36-41 applications, 9.0-10.3 interviews per applicant, and 78%-86% match rate). The "number needed to match" for programs was 4 (range, 1-21). A subset of applicants had poor average ranks on program rank lists but was nevertheless ranked to match by one program. Forty-six percent of these applicants matched at their top choice compared to 20% of matched controls. CONCLUSIONS The independent Plastic Surgery Match has become less competitive over the last decade. The low average number needed to match in the context of a high applicant match rate supports the hypothesis that programs and applicants may be modifying rank lists from a true-preference list. Noncompetitive applicants are occasionally ranked to match by a program, and these applicants tend to match at their top choice far more often than the average applicant-providing further support to this hypothesis.