Trends in Neuroscience Residency Match Rates in Hawaii

RESEARCH QUESTION:
Can residency match rates reveal insights into factors influencing whether students choose careers in the neurosciences?

BACKGROUND:
There is a shortage of neurologists, both globally (1) and in the state of Hawaii (2). To better understand factors that may influence medical students choosing to enter neuroscience-related careers, the residency match data for medical students in Hawaii was examined.

METHODS:
Published residency match lists from the John A. Burns School of Medicine were evaluated from each year from 1990 through 2022. The annual number of students matching in neuroscience fields were tallied. These fields included neurology, neurological surgery, child neurology, and neuroradiology. Tallies were compared to the number of students included on the match list.

RESULTS:
Over the 33 years evaluated, the mean percentage of students matching in neuroscience-related fields is 3.01% (range = 0 - 6.67%, SD = 2.12%). A visible increase in match rates is noted starting in 1999. The mean from 1990 - 1998 is 0.82% (SD 0.98%), and 3.04% (SD = 2.08%) from 1999 – 2022. This difference is significant on a Student’s t-test (p < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONS:
The percentage of students in Hawaii who choose careers in neuroscience varies significantly from year to year, but the average has varied very little in recent decades. Significant changes in students' exposure to the neurosciences over the past 12 years have made no statistically significant impact in the average match rate. The most evident shift in match rate happened in 1999. This may be attributable to the approval of tPA for ischemic stroke in late 1996.

SIGNIFICANCE:
The percentage of students choosing careers in neuroscience is not a sensitive measure for the efficacy of educational methods. However, it may be influenced by fundamental changes in available treatments. Comparison to match rates from other schools would provide additional insight.

REFERENCES:
1. Burton A. How do we fix the shortage of neurologists? Lancet Neurol. 2018 Jun;17(6):502-503. doi: 10.1016/S1474-4422(18)30143-1. Epub 2018 Apr 18. PMID: 29680206.
2. Kutlu S, Harris WB, Tse CE, Anzai NE, Miura H, Chang BK, Miles JD. Neurologist Attitudes on Practicing in Hawai'i. Hawaii J Health Soc Welf. 2020 Dec 1;79(12):340-346. PMID: 33313515; PMCID: PMC7726617.