Waning geospatial diversity in top New England General Surgery programs

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the standard method for conducting in-person general surgery residency interviews was drastically modified, and instead, all interviews were performed over virtual platforms starting in 2020. Subsequently, medical students began applying to more programs given the decreased financial and time burden. This study evaluates geographic diversity among New England general surgery residents before and after implementation of virtual interviews.

This was a cohort study of American general surgical residents in New England between 2022 and 2023. International students were excluded. Publicly available data regarding residents’ medical school were obtained and linear distance to their residency program calculated. Doximity was utilized to determine residency program rankings. The relationship between training year and resident distance from their medical school was calculated using linear regression.

There was no change in geographic diversity between junior and senior residents (478.7 miles (95% CI 387–571) vs. 523.4 miles (95% CI 437–610), p = 0.49) or when divided into top half (p = 0.61) or bottom half programs (p = 0.63). The top half programs, however, showed a steady decrease in geographic diversity (linear regression estimate -53.8 miles/year, p = 0.05), whereas bottom half programs have shown no effect (p = 0.49).

The top eight surgical residency programs display decreasing geographic diversity compared to the other eight programs in New England. Limitations of the study include exclusion of residents completing their research years and lack of evaluation of status as preliminary or categorical residents.