The Urology Match and Post-Interview Communication

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INTRODUCTION

The American Urological Association (AUA) Urology Residency Matching Program tightly regulates communication between applicants and urology residency programs following an applicant's interview. The purpose of this study was to understand the frequency and nature of post-interview communication as it relates to the rules and regulations of the AUA match, as well as the impact of such communication on the outcomes of the match.

METHODS

An anonymous, electronic survey questionnaire was sent to all applicants to a single urology residency training program during the 2017 AUA match cycle. The survey was administered one month after the release of match results and queried applicants regarding their experiences with post-interview communication.

RESULTS

Of 231 surveys sent, 78 were returned completed for a 34% response rate. Among respondents, 47 (60%) reported receiving post-interview communication from at least one residency program, 20 (26%) were asked to reveal where they would be ranking a program on their rank list, and 15 (19%) reported that post-interview communication caused them to rank a program higher than initially planned, or to keep the program ranked at #1 if currently ranked there. Student-perceived rules violations that resulted from these communications are displayed in Table 1. Post-interview communication via telephone (a prohibited behavior) was associated with significantly increased odds of matching at the contacting program (odds ratio 20.0, 95% confidence interval 2.12-188.66, P = 0.003).

CONCLUSION

Post-interview communication between applicants and urology residency programs is prevalent, with numerous violations of the rules of the match. Post-interview communication may impact the rank lists of urology applicants.

Funding: None