Medical Student University of Florida College of Medicine Gainesville, Florida, United States
Introduction: Although studies have evaluated the economic burden to medical students applying to neurosurgery, no study has determined the specific application, away rotation, interview and total costs. As away rotations and in-person interviews were canceled for the 2021 cycle, this provided the opportunity to analyze potential areas for cost savings.
Methods: This was a cross-sectional analysis of the Texas Seeking Transparency in Application to Residency Dashboard (Texas STAR) database. Cost data pertaining to neurosurgical residency applicants in 2021 and 2022 cycles was recorded and analyzed. A Mann-Whitney U test was used to determine whether there were statistically significant differences in expenses between years at a p value threshold of < 0.05.
Results: Data from 115 United States (US) allopathic medical students was included in this analysis. The average total application-related expenses across regions of the US for the 2021 cycle ranged between $2083-2250, whereas the average cost for the 2022 cycle ranged across regions between $6889-11908. As expected, there was a significantly increased interview and away-rotation cost (both P< 0.0001), despite only a handful of programs re-introducing in-person interviews and the option for away rotations.
Conclusion : As the application process to neurosurgery will inevitably return to fully in-person interviews and the option for students to go back to 2-3 away rotations, costs will again rise significantly. This study emphasizes the need to explore opportunities to cut application-related costs for neurosurgery applicants.
