Solving Congestion in the Plastic Surgery Match
- 1 February 2019
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Ovid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health) in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
- Vol. 143 (2), 634-639
- https://doi.org/10.1097/prs.0000000000005254
Abstract
Plastic and reconstructive surgery is among the most competitive specialties in the residency match. Applicants seeking to maximize their chances of a successful match often submit numerous applications to the National Residency Matching Program. It is not uncommon for those applying to plastic and reconstructive surgery to apply to every program. The high application volume imparts significant time and financial burden for applicants and programs alike. Furthermore, it makes distinguishing between applicants with a genuine interest in a specific program and those who are merely hoping to improve their chances vastly more difficult. The authors sought to characterize trends in the match rate, as the number of integrated plastic and reconstructive surgery programs continues to increase. Furthermore, they reviewed the literature on game theory for possible solutions to residency application congestion. The authors propose the use of the game theory model to explain the observed results and show why an application limit is the most reasonable approach to address this issue.Keywords
This publication has 16 references indexed in Scilit:
- Residency Characteristics That Matter Most to Plastic Surgery ApplicantsAnnals of Plastic Surgery, 2015
- Relationship Between the Number of Residency Applications and the Yearly Match Rate: Time to Start Thinking About an Application Limit?Journal of Graduate Medical Education, 2015
- Propose with a rose? Signaling in internet dating marketsExperimental Economics, 2014
- Insights From the San Francisco Match Rank List DataAnnals of Plastic Surgery, 2014
- Fixing the MatchPlastic and Reconstructive Surgery, 2013
- The Urology Match as a Prisoner's Dilemma: A Game Theory PerspectiveUrology, 2013
- Preference Signaling in Matching MarketsAmerican Economic Journal: Microeconomics, 2013
- Fixing the “Match”: How to Play the GameJournal of Graduate Medical Education, 2012
- Resident Selection Protocols in Plastic Surgery: A National Survey of Plastic Surgery Program DirectorsPlastic and Reconstructive Surgery, 2008
- The Redesign of the Matching Market for American Physicians: Some Engineering Aspects of Economic DesignAmerican Economic Review, 1999