LAUSR

The orthopaedic fellowship match process has become an important part of training in the past several years. The Orthopaedic Trauma Association (OTA) had a match, like many other subspecialties in the 1990s. The match process was disorganized and chaotic for applicants and programs alike and dissolved for most specialties. The OTA reinstated the match in 2007 and subsequently joined the San Francisco Match in 2008. Every orthopaedic surgical subspecialty now participates in an organized match process. With the exception of the hand (who uses National Resident Matching Program for a multidisciplinary match involving orthopaedic, plastic, and general surgery residents), the specialty societies use the San Francisco Match to run the fellowship match. Applying to fellowship is akin to applying for residency. It takes time, money, and creates anxiety. With most specialties having more applicants than positions, the process is competitive for applicants and programs alike. There have been articles published on the match process describing the applicants’ and programs’ experiences. There has not been any literature on the optimal interview day experience. This experience can have an impact on the match results for both the program and the applicant. The OTA has surveyed both the applicants and programs after the Match. The OTA PostMatch Survey in 2017 added questions to evaluate the interview experience. A summary of the PostMatch Survey results on optimizing the interview experience is presented below.