Navigating the Residency Application Process: Understanding the Updates to the Recruitment Process

Residency recruitment is a continuum of events spanning application submission, review, interview offer and completion, rank list submission and finally, the match of applicants and programs. Since its inception, the continuum has evolved, recently experiencing marked change in light of observed challenges including but not limited to those associated with ballooning application numbers, COVID-19 implications, and inequities. The recent innovations in recruitment are discussed with this in mind. Holistic review, preference signaling, secondary assessment, single release periods for first round interview invitations, and virtual interviews are a few of the recent innovations that have been implemented. These and others—their impetus, available data, and future directions—will be explored throughout this chapter.