Impact of Preference Signaling on Residency Interview Distribution Among Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery Applicants

OBJECTIVE: This study investigates interview offer distri-bution among applicants of varying levels of competi-tiveness in a residency application cycle with and without preference signaling.DESIGN AND SETTING: Self-reported applicant survey data evaluating the 2021-2022 Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery residency signal experience was used to investigate the current distribution of interview offers among applicants. These data then informed a model to assess the distribution of interview offers without signal-ing in place.PARTICIPANTS: 260 (47% response rate) Otolaryngol-ogy-Head and Neck Surgery residency applicants who responded to the survey. RESULTS: Applicants were divided into four quartiles based on their overall interview offer rate (self-reported number of interviews/self-reported number of applica-tions submitted). Applicants in the top quartile received fewer interview offers while applicants in all other quar-tiles received more interview offers when signaling was introduced.CONCLUSIONS: Our data demonstrate that when signal-ing is introduced, interviews are more evenly distributed among applicants. ( J Surg Ed 80:170-176. (c) 2022 Asso-ciation of Program Directors in Surgery. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)