Association of Vascular Surgery Interest Groups with Applicant Volume and Match Outcomes: A Multi-Year Analysis of National Resident Matching Program Data.

INTRODUCTION: Vascular Surgery Interest Groups (VSIGs) have been established at numerous medical schools to promote early specialty exposure. However, their influence on applicant volume and match outcomes remains incompletely defined. This study evaluates the impact of VSIG presence in an applicant's medical school on national application volume to integrated vascular surgery residency and match performance. METHODS: U.S. allopathic medical schools with active VSIGs were identified via Society for Vascular Surgery registration. Aggregate, de-identified data were obtained from the National Resident Matching Program for 2020-2025 match cycles and compared to U.S. allopathic non-VSIG institutions. Data were normalized by number of institutions in each group and used for univariate analysis. RESULTS: 428 applicants were identified from VSIG institutions (n=88) versus 142 applicants from non-VSIG institutions (n=76). VSIG institutions demonstrated significantly higher normalized applicant volume per cycle (0.81 vs 0.31, p<0.0001) (Figure 1) and higher mean annual match rate (79.8% vs 64.9%, p=0.006) (Figure 2). Applicant volume per school increased at VSIG institutions over time (2020: 0.63; 2025: 0.97), while non-VSIG institutions showed a slight decline (2020: 0.36; 2025: 0.32). No significant differences were found between groups in research, work, or volunteer experiences, or abstract/presentation/publication count. Nationally, research experiences remained stable, work and volunteer experiences declined, and abstract/presentation/publication count increased across the study period. DISCUSSION: The presence of a VSIG at a medical school is associated with increased integrated vascular surgery residency applicant volume and improved match outcomes. Early engagement through VSIGs may be an effective strategy to enhance recruitment into vascular surgery.