Linguistic Analysis of Narrative and Standardized Letters of Recommendation for Integrated Plastic Surgery Applicants and Impact on Match.

[OBJECTIVE] Applying to integrated plastic and reconstructive surgery (PRS) has become increasingly competitive and letters of recommendations play a role in matching. This study evaluates narrative and standardized letters for integrated plastic surgery applicants to determine which letter components are most predictive of matching.

[DESIGN] Linguistic analysis was performed on all narrative letters with Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count software using a customized dictionary. LOR authors, author professional rank, and applicant rankings were collected from standardized letters. Statistical analysis was performed with significance set to p < 0.05.

[SETTING] This is a single-institution study.

[PARTICIPANTS] This study included all integrated plastic surgery applicants to our institution in the 2023 to 2024 cycle.

[RESULTS] About 304 applicants were included with 1124 total narrative LOR. Matched applicants had significantly higher numbers of narrative LOR (3.77 letters vs. 3.54 letters, p < 0.001). Matched applicant LORs had significantly higher counts across several favorable categories including research, grindstone, and likability. Applicants with letters by plastic surgeons versus other specialties had significantly higher odds of matching (OR 7.89, p < 0.001). About 380 standardized letters were available for analysis. Matched applicants had significantly more standardized letters of recommendation (1.52 letters vs. 0.79 letters, p < 0.001). Important factors associated with matching included patient care, professionalism, and team-player. An overall rank of 1 and 2 to 5 was associated with greater odds of matching (OR 3.94, p < 0.001 and OR 1.8, p = 0.02, respectively), while ranking 5 to 10 and 10 to 20 were negatively associated with matching (OR 0.55, p = 0.03 and OR 0.07 p = 0.01, respectively).

[CONCLUSION] This study comprehensively analyzes narrative and standardized LOR for integrated PRS applicants. Top favorable domains used in matched applicant letters were research, grindstone, likability, and standout. Matched applicants were ranked higher overall, and worse overall rankings had significantly lower odds of matching. This study may inform success in matching.