Standardized Letters of Recommendation and Match Success Among Orthopaedic Surgery Residency Applicants.

Matthew C Gallo, Fergui Hernandez, Jacob R Ball, Julius Reynolds, Aura Elias, Tara Shelby, Jay R Lieberman

Abstract read

In one paragraph

Article in Journal of graduate medical education, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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0citing papers in PubMed

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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

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3 · Its place in the literature

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0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Matthew C Gallois an Orthopaedic Surgery Resident, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA.ORCID https://orcid.org/0009-0007-6561-2373

Fergui Hernandezis an Orthopaedic Surgery Resident, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA.ORCID https://orcid.org/0009-0000-0973-7322

Jacob R Ballis an Orthopaedic Surgery Resident, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3535-2631

Julius Reynoldsis a Medical Student, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA.

Aura Eliasis a Medical Student, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA.

Tara Shelbyis an Orthopaedic Surgery Resident, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8368-1299

Jay R Liebermanis a Professor and Chair, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1374-8929

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background: Standardized letters of recommendation (SLORs) aim to make applicant letters more comparable, but score inflation raises concerns about their usefulness. In orthopaedic surgery, the 2023 SLOR was similarly affected. Objective: To evaluate the 2023 SLOR's association with orthopaedic surgery residency Match success and the association between below-average scores and Match outcomes. Methods: We reviewed all applications to our orthopaedic surgery residency program during the 2023-2024 cycle, including demographics, objective applicant metrics, and 2023 SLOR scores (7 criteria, 10-point scale). SLORs are optional, and applicants may submit 0 to 4 at our program. Match success was defined as matching into an orthopaedic surgery residency program by the start of the next academic year, confirmed via internet search. Univariate testing and multivariable logistic regression evaluated associations between objective metrics, SLOR scores, and Match success. Effect estimates are reported with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Results: Of 492 applications, 367 (75%) contained 2023 SLORs; of these, 234 applicants (64%) matched into orthopaedic surgery. Matched applicants had higher mean cumulative SLOR scores than unmatched applicants (8.9±0.8 vs 8.3±1.2; difference, 0.6; 95% CI, 0.3-0.8; Conclusions: Higher 2023 SLOR scores were positively associated with Match success. A single score of 5 or 6 was not associated with decreased Match success, whereas multiple such ratings were.

Indexed as

Correspondence as TopicInternship and ResidencyOrthopedicsPersonnel SelectionFemaleHumansMale

Identifiers

PMID42890235

DOI10.4300/JGME-D-25-01102.1

PMCPMC13671127

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.