The Effect of Early Surgical Exposure on Surgical Match Rates at a Canadian Medical School
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15273/dmj.Vol51No1.12936Abstract
Purpose: This research aims to assess whether there is an association between pre-clerkship surgical exposure programs and surgical residency match rate.
Materials & Methods: A three-year cohort of graduated medical students at a Canadian University were analyzed retrospectively to compare surgical match rates based on early exposure to surgery through the Surgical Exploration and Discovery (SEAD) program. Students were excluded from the study if they did not participate in the CaRMS R-1 match. There was a total of 330 medical graduates included in this analysis.
Results: Through our analysis we have determined that the odds of matching to surgery were almost four times greater (OR = 3.93 [95% CI: 2.05 - 7.52]) for those exposed to this program across all years studied. During the three-year study period, approximately 34% of Dalhousie graduates who participated in the program matched to surgery, significantly higher than Dalhousie’s overall surgical match rate (15.5%) during the same period.
Conclusion: As the first of its kind, this research provides initial evidence that early surgical exposure through the SEAD program at Dalhousie does achieve its goal of introducing and exposing students to the many fields of surgery, while also increasing surgical match rate among participants.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Benjamin Keefe, Tamara Selman, David Hodgson, Erin Donovan, Connor McGuire, Dafydd Davies
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