Is the orthopedic fellowship interview process broken? A survey of program directors and residents

Most orthopedic surgery residents pursue fellowship training. The fellowship interview process requires considerable time and financial investment from residents and residency programs. We conducted a study of the time, financial, and program disruption impact the fellowship interview process has on residents and residency programs. Two mixed-response questionnaires were sent to orthopedic surgery residency directors and postgraduate year 4 and 5 residents. Responses were received from 45 program directors and 129 residents. Sixty-two percent of the directors thought the interview process was extremely disruptive to their program. On average, the residents applied to 19 programs, received 14 interview offers, attended 11 interviews, were away from residency training 11 days, and spent $5875 on travel. About 70% of directors and residents wanted changes made to the orthopedic fellowship interview process. Sixty percent of the directors wanted interviews conducted in a central location. Our results highlight that time away from residency training, financial costs associated with the fellowship interview process, and disruption of the residency program are substantial.