The Impact of Program Signaling on Ophthalmology Program Director and Applicant Residency Match Experience

Background: Program signaling (PS), which enables applicants to signal their interest to a specific program, was introduced in the 2024-2025 ophthalmology residency match cycle. Purpose: To highlight program director (PD) opinions on signaling as well as its impact on interview and match statistics. Methods: A questionnaire of program demographics and PD experience with PS was sent to all 2024-2025 ophthalmology residency programs. Anonymous responses from PDs were recorded. Descriptive statistics were used to detail program characteristics, interview/match statistics, and PD opinions. Results: A total of 126 questionnaires were sent to PDs, and 32 responses were received (25.4% response rate). The majority of respondents indicated that PS improved the application cycle (75%) and saved them time during file review (56%). On average, programs received 618 ± 114 applications and 22 ± 3 signals, indicating a 3.5% average signal rate among applicants. Programs interviewed an average of 48 ± 18 applicants, where 53% of interviewees had signaled their preference. At a given program, an average of 78% of matched applicants had signaled. Most PDs did not require applicants to signal their home program (59%) or signal programs at which they completed away rotations (63%). PS was of minimal importance (1-5 out of 10) when interviewing (53.13%) or ranking applicants (84.38%). Nonetheless, 84% of respondents indicated that they would use PS for the next cycle. For the future, 38% of PDs indicated that the number of signals should remain at 7, 34% preferred 8-14 signals, and 25% preferred more than 14 signals. PDs suggested tiered signaling and standardization of PS for home and away rotation applicants. Conclusions: Most programs looked on PS favorably, despite the lack of importance placed when interviewing and ranking applicants. Deeper comprehension and further optimization of PS can provide applicants and PDs with insights into the increasingly competitive ophthalmology residency match.