Colon and Rectal Surgery Fellowship Applicant and Matching Trends in the United States: An Analysis of National Resident Matching Program Data

Abstract

Background Colon and Rectal Surgery fellowships are training programs that aim to train surgeons in the management of small bowel, colon, rectal, and anal pathologies. Objective We investigated trends in Colon and Rectal Surgery fellowship match to help applicants anticipate future fellowship application cycles. Design This was a retrospective cohort study of applicants in the Colon and Rectal Surgery match from 2009 to 2023. Proportion of positions filled, match rates, and rank-order lists were collected. The impact of US-MD, non-US-MD, and DO status on match rate was assessed. We used the Mann Kendall trend test to obtain tau statistic and P-value for temporal trends over time, while associations between categorical variables were investigated by a chi-square test. Results Fellowship programs increased from 43 to 67, positions increased from 78 to 110, and number of applicants rose from 113 to 135. Nearly all positions were filled from 2009 to 2023 (range: 96.3%-100%). The overall match rate fluctuated between 67.3% and 80.7%. The match rate over the past 5 years was 72.0%. The match rate for US-MDs was 80.0%, while non-US-MDs had a 56.2% match rate. The percentage matching at each rank were first choice 28.0%, second choice 10.4%, third choice 6.9%, and fourth choice or lower 23.5%. Conclusion Despite an increase in Colon and Rectal Surgery fellowship positions, the overall match rate has not changed significantly over the years, mainly as a result of increased applicants.