The Influence of Dedicated Research Year on Applicant Familiarity in the Integrated Plastic Surgery Match.

[OBJECTIVE] "Applicant familiarity," or prior knowledge of an applicant, is associated with successful plastic surgery match outcomes. While a research year (RY) enhances academic productivity, mentorship, and specialty exposure, its impact on familiarity and matching at the RY institution remains unclear. This study examines whether a RY improves applicant familiarity and match outcomes at the RY program.

[DESIGN] The Plastic Surgery (PRS) Match 2023 to 2024 Google spreadsheet was used to analyze matched applicants' RY status, familiarity with their matched program and match rates. Applicant familiarity included home program, research-year match (RYM), away/subinternship (SI) match, or unfamiliar program. Match rates between RY and non-RY applicants were compared using Chi-squared test.

[SETTING] N/A PARTICIPANTS: 213 applicants matched and 146 matched applicants with complete data were included.

[RESULTS] Among the matched PRS applicants, 71.9% had a home PRS program, and 50% completed a RY. Away/subinternship and home match rates for the entire matched cohort were 52.1% and 23.97%, respectively. Compared to the non-RY group, RY applicants had lower away/subinternship match rates (36.3% vs. 15.8%, respectively) and were significantly more likely to match at unfamiliar programs (0.68% vs. 18.5%, p < 0.0001). Only 4.8% of RY applicants matched at their RY institution.

[CONCLUSIONS] Most matched RY applicants secured positions at unfamiliar programs, with fewer than 5% matching at their RY institution. A dedicated RY provides limited benefit in fostering applicant familiarity for matching at a specific program, especially when compared to the higher match rates of away rotations and home programs.