103 Parental Occupation and Orthopaedic Surgery Residency Applicants: Implications on Educational Debt, Scholarships, Medical School Ranking, and Resulting Match Rates

Abstract

OBJECTIVES/GOALS: Parental SES may influence the trajectory of students applying to orthopaedic surgery residency, perpetuating opportunistic disparities. Thus, we sought to examine the relationship between parental occupation/education and applicant match rate, education financing, and medical school background. METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: Data from the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) documented parental occupation and education levels of 10,697 orthopedics applicants from 2011 to 2021. Parental occupations were categorized into physician vs non-physician, healthcare vs non-healthcare, working class vs non-working class, and STEMM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, Medicine) vs non-STEMM. Parental education levels spanned from no college degree to doctorate degrees and were used as a proxy for SES. Outcomes analyzed included match success, premedical and medical school debt, total educational debt, scholarships, and representation from top 40 research medical schools as determined by NIH funding. RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: Physician parent applicants (20.1%) had better match rates (75.5% vs. 73.5%), lower debts, lesser scholarships, and higher top 40 school representation. Healthcare parent applicants (37.0%) had similar match rates, less debt and scholarships. Working class parent applicants (6.0%) had more debt and scholarships. STEMM parent applicants (48.6%) had higher match rates, lesser debts and scholarships, and higher top 40 representation. Applicants with parents without college degrees had lower match rates (68.6% vs 74.5%), more debt and scholarships. Doctorate parent applicants had better match success (75.9% vs 72.9%), lesser debts, and higher top 40 school representation (34.9% vs 29.6%). DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE: Parental SES was associated with substantial variation in applicant financial burden and educational pedigree. Notably, applicants with parents lacking degrees had lower match rates, underscoring the need for supportive strategies to ensure equitable opportunities for aspiring orthopaedic surgeons.