Steven Pletcher, MD, of the Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF OHNS) has recently published in The Laryngoscope of The American Laryngological, Rhinological and Otological Society.
The research, "Preference Signaling in Otolaryngology—Past, Present, and Future: A Comment From the Society of University Otolaryngologists (SUO), Association of Academic Departments in Otolaryngology (AADO), and the Otolaryngology Program Directors Organization (OPDO)", provides comment on the state of otolaryngology in terms of residency applications. Dr. Pletcher and the additional authors, Bradley Marple, MD, of the University of Texas Southwestern OHNS and David Brown, MD of the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor OHNS, discuss the close relationship between SUO, AADO and OPDO within academic otolaryngology.
To provide a credible and equitable system for students to receive special attention from their programs of interest, The OPDO approached the AADO and the SUO regarding preference signaling. This program "allows students a set number of signals (Otolaryngology used 5 in its inaugural year) to send to programs of particular interest." Signals are unranked and programs receive only a list of applicants who have sent a signal.
The expansion of this program across departments coupled with the positive results and feedback suggest this will be a long-term addition to the residency application process.
"As of today, every specialty that has adopted preference signaling has continued with signaling," the authors wrote. "Alterations to the structure of signaling, however, have beencommon and are likely to continue. Clear communication of signaling program details between specialties, medical schools, advisors, and students may help reduce anxiety among applicants and facilitate guidance from medical school advisors."
