Thalamus Research
Our research is the result of nearly a decade’s worth of experience collaborating with 2500+ residency and fellowship programs at 200+ institutions, across 100+ specialties.
Our work takes an in-depth study at the application, interview, and match processes both within and across specialties, aggregating data throughout GME. We partner with specialty and other GME leadership organizations, as well as institutions and individual programs, to provide data-driven insight and evidence-based analyses to promote innovation and technology integration in GME recruitment.
We value these research initiatives and are always looking for additional collaborative projects.
Select and Recent Publications:
Results:
Conclusion:
Despite more than 60% of the residency programs committing to participate, less than half of the programs that initially agreed to participate were strictly adherent to guidelines during the first UIOD in orthopaedic surgery. Although additional research is needed to analyze the unique, fully virtual 2020 to 2021 recruitment season, a phased or waved approach to the UIOD may improve the process for all stakeholders in future cycles.
Ephy R. Love, Franklin Dexter, Jason I. Reminick, Suzanne B. Karan
Results:
For anesthesiology, the median residency program could reduce their interviews by 16.9% (97.5% confidence interval 8.5%-24.1%) supposing they would not invite applicants if the 99% upper prediction limit for the probability of matching was less than 10.0%. The corresponding median savings would be 0.80 interviews per matched spot (0.34-1.33). In doing so, the median program would sustain a risk of 5.3% (97.5% confidence interval 2.3%-7.9%) of having at least one interviewee removed from their final rank-to-match list.
Conclusions:
Using novel interview data and analyses, we demonstrate that residency programs can substantively reduce interviews with less effect on rank-to-match lists. The data-driven approach to manage marginal interviews allows program leadership to better weigh costs and benefits when composing their annual list of interviewees.
Love, Ephy R. MS*; Dexter, Franklin MD, PhD, FASA†; Reminick, Jason I. MD, MBA, MS‡; Sanford, Joseph A. MD§; Karan, Suzanne MD, FASA‖
Anesthesia & Analgesia: January 2021 - Volume 132 - Issue 1 - p 223-230
Results:
An interviewee living in the same state as the interviewing program could have 5.42 fewer total interviews (97.5% CI, 3.02–7.81) while having the same odds of matching. The same state effect had an equivalent value as an approximately 4.14 USMLE points-difference from the program’s mean (97.5% CI was 2.34–5.94 USMLE points). Addition of whether the interviewee belonged to an affiliated medical school did not significantly improve the model; same-state remained significant (P < .0001) while affiliated medical school was not (P = .40).
Conclusions:
Our analysis of anesthesiology residency recruitment using previously unstudied interview data shows that same-state locality is a viable predictor of residency matching and should be strongly considered when evaluating whether to interview an applicant.
Saunders Lin; Jason Reminick; Ephy Love; Benedict Nwomeh; Sanjay Krishnaswami
Journal of Pediatric Surgery VOLUME 56, ISSUE 6, P1095
https://www.jpedsurg.org/article/S0022-3468(21)00174-3/pdf
Results
Our dataset included 34, 41, and 45 programs, which represented 81%, 91%, and 97% of all programs in 2018, 2019, and 2020, respectively. The median number of interviews completed per program remained constant, while the median number of interviews per applicant increased from 9.0 in 2018 to 13.0 in 2020. For 75% of programs, a program required only 4 or less candidates to fill their position. On average, 96% of program interviews do not result in a matched candidate.
Conclusions
Programs offer interviews out of proportion to the number of positions available, and most applicants attend all interviews offered. We recommend an initial program goal of 20 interviews, which may be achieved by increased use of virtual interviews and the creation of program-level data on ideal applicant profiles.
Saunders Lin, Sanjay Krishnaswami, Jason I. Reminick, Ephy Love and Benedict C. Nwomeh
Pediatrics March 2021, 147 (3 MeetingAbstract) 924
https://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/147/3_MeetingAbstract/924.1.full?rss=1
Results:
Our dataset included 34, 41, and 45 programs, which represented 75%, 91%, and 95% of all programs in 2018, 2019, and 2020, respectively. For applicants, the difference between median number of interviews received versus completed were 0, +1, and +0.5. For programs, the difference between interviews offered versus completed was greater (+3, +2, +4). Median cancellations per program were 7 in 2018, 5 in 2019, and 3 in 2020, and the median amount of time from first interview scheduled to 80% full was 95.49, 43.32, and 44.13 minutes, respectively. We found an association between region of applicant and program interviewed (p<.001). As all programs offered only one position per interview cycle, a mean of 22 of 23 interviews (95.72%) per program do not result in a matched candidate.
Conclusions:
The vast majority of pediatric surgery fellowship interviews do not result in a successful match. Applicants, on average, attend all interviews offered, while programs offer more interviews than they complete. Next steps include creation of program-level performance data on scheduling, cancellations, and ideal applicant profiles to maximize the Pediatric Surgery interview process.
White Papers & Blog Analyses:
The 2020-2021 medical residency recruitment and match season was unique. Like most processes affected by COVID-19, this recruitment season was mandated to be entirely virtual. While some industries easily transitioned to the online space, the previously ubiquitous practice of in-person interviews in medicine has always been considered necessary, bordering on sacred. While interviewing virtually has likely benefits, the loss of the experience of visiting an institution in-person, in a recruitment process that ends with a matching algorithm, which in turn dictates where applicants will spend the next...
Without question, given COVID-19, this GME interview season has been the most unique, challenging, and stressful of recent, memory (and perhaps ever). From the start of the pandemic, it was hypothesized that virtual interviews would lead to increased candidate application, increased program interviews, “hoarding” of interviews amongst “top” candidates, and significant interviewee overlap amongst programs, leading to a larger number of... View the full article on our Blog
- The number of candidates to invite to interview
- The ideal times to send out interview invitations
- How to announce your program's interview invitations
- How to communicate your program’s invitation message
- How to best accommodate your candidates
- How scheduling flexibility optimizes completed interviews