Relationship Between National Residency Matching Program (NRMP) Rank Order and Otolaryngology Residency Performance

Abstract Objective The process of resident recruitment is costly, and our surgical residency program expends significant time on the resident selection process while balancing general duties and responsibilities. The aim of our study was to explore the relationship between otolaryngology–head and surgery (OHNS) residents' National Residency Matching Program (NRMP) rank‐list position at our institution and their subsequent residency performance. Study Design Retrospective cohort study. Setting Single site institution. Methods We retrospectively reviewed 7 consecutive resident classes (2011‐2017) at a single tertiary OHNS residency program. We reviewed each resident's absolute rank order in the NRMP matches. Measures of residency performance included overall faculty evaluation during postgraduate year 5 (PGY5), annual in‐service examination scores (scaled score), and the number of manuscripts published in peer‐reviewed journals. Correlations between NRMP rank order and subsequent residency performance were assessed using Spearman's rho correlation coefficients ( ρ ). Results Twenty‐eight residents entered residency training between 2011 and 2017. The average rank position of the trainees during this study was 9.7 (range: 1‐22). We found no significant correlation between rank order and faculty evaluation during PGY5 ( ρ = 0.097, P = .625) or number of publications ( ρ = −0.256, P = .189). Additionally, when assessing the association between rank order and annual Otolaryngology Training Examination‐scaled scores, no statistically significant relationship was found between the 2 ( P > .05). Conclusion Our results showed that there were no significant correlations between OHNS rank order and various measures of success in residency training, which aligns with existing literature. Further investigation of this relationship should be conducted to ensure the applicability of our findings.