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Scientific Oral Presentations

Professional and Personal Development

Session: Scientific Oral Presentation 1 - Professional and Personal Development

Trends in Medical Student Research Among Otolaryngology Residency Applicants: A Decade in Review (2015–2024)

Monday, October 13, 2025
10:06 AM - 10:12 AM EDT
Location: 235-236
Introduction: Matching into otolaryngology residency is highly competitive, requiring applicants to distinguish themselves across many metrics. We hypothesize that research productivity has risen as applicants attempt to remain competitive, especially with the removal of traditional benchmarks like preclinical grades and numeric Step 1 scores. This study examines trends in research output and the prevalence of dedicated research years among otolaryngology residency applicants from 2015 to 2024.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed U.S. MD and DO senior otolaryngology applications to one major academic program for the 2015-2024 match years. Metrics assessed included the number of published peer-reviewed articles, peer-reviewed articles other than published (e.g., those in submission or under review), poster presentations, oral presentations, and the rate of dedicated research years taken. Mann-Kendall, Kruskal-Wallis, and Dunn’s tests were performed using R and Prism 10.

Results: Research output trended significantly upward over 2015-2024 (all τ>0.78, p< 0.001), with significant differences between years, particularly early (2015-2019) vs. later (2020-2024) years. The average number of published articles increased from 1.6 to 4.9, and articles in submission increased from 1.4 to 3.7. The average number of poster presentations increased from 2.6 to 7.3, and oral presentations increased from 1.5 to 4.3. The percentage of applicants taking dedicated research years also steadily increased from 12.64% in 2015 to 26.59% in 2024 (τ>0.6, p=0.02).

Conclusions: Despite program directors ranking research as less critical on past surveys, our findings suggest increasing research productivity among otolaryngology applicants. There is no current evidence linking research productivity with residency success in terms of preceptor evaluations, core competency completion, or in-service exam performance. Future studies should explore its impact on students, and a reevaluation of the metrics used to assess otolaryngology applicants should be considered.

    Presenting Author(s)

  • W. Jared Martin, BA

    Medical Student
    University of North Carolina School of Medicine
    Chapel Hill, NC, United States

    Disclosure(s):

    faculty for this accredited education activity has no relationship(s) with ineligible companies to disclose.

    • Co-Author(s)

  • AM

    Aurelia S. Monk, BA

    University of North Carolina School of Medicine
    Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States

    Disclosure information not submitted.

    • Co-Author(s)

  • Yasine Mirmozaffari, BS

    Medical Student
    University of North Carolina School of Medicine
    chapel hill, NC, United States

    Disclosure information not submitted.

  • EB

    Ezer Benaim, MD

    Resident
    UNC Hospitals, USA

    Disclosure information not submitted.

  • CD

    Christina Dorismond, MD

    Resident Physician
    Vanderbilt University Medical Center
    Nashville, Tennessee, United States

    Disclosure information not submitted.

  • Christine E. DeMason, MD

    Associate Professor
    UNC Chapel Hill School of Medicine
    Chapel Hill, NC, United States

    Disclosure(s):

    faculty for this accredited education activity has no relationship(s) with ineligible companies to disclose.

  • RB

    Robert A. Buckmire, MD

    Professor
    University of North Carolina School of Medicine
    Chapel Hill, NC, United States

    Disclosure information not submitted.

    • Senior Author(s)

  • RS

    Rupali Shah, MD

    Associate Professor
    University of North Carolina School of Medicine, United States

    Disclosure information not submitted.