Student Factors That Influence Clerkship Grades and Matching Into a Surgical Residency

Objective Evaluate the relationship between medical school factors (including preclinical mentorship, order of clerkships, and clerkship grades) and matching into surgical specialties. Design Clerkship information, match data, and data on structured preclinical research obtained from 2010 to 2015 for a single institution was obtained and analyzed using multivariate analysis. Setting University of Michigan Medical School. Participants Seven hundred and forty-six students who took both the Internal Medicine and Surgery clerkships between 2010 and 2015 and have since participated in the match. Results Among 740 students studied, 243 matched into a surgical field. Higher Shelf scores were associated with higher clerkship grades in Surgery and Internal Medicine. Honors or High Pass in Surgery were associated with matching into a surgical field. Structured preclinical research in Surgery and order of clerkship were not associated with matching into a surgical field. Conclusions Students who went into surgery were more likely to receive Honors or High Pass. Preclinical choices geared toward a surgical specialty (e.g., order of clerkship and structured research) were not associated with matching into a surgical field. These data may help guide school specific advice for students.