Department of Surgery, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, Massachusetts.
University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, Massachusetts.
J Surg Educ. 2021 Nov-Dec;78(6):e218-e225. doi: 10.1016/j.jsurg.2021.04.017. Epub 2021 May 18.
The role for social media use by General Surgery departments continues to expand and social media accounts have been increasingly implemented as a tool for residency program for promotion and engagement. The importance of these accounts appears to have increased given the unprecedented changes with COVID-19 and the dramatic and unpredictable change to the application cycle including the use of virtual interviews, suggesting a perceived need for increased online engagement with applicants. The purpose of this study was to determine the patterns of creation and usage of Twitter and Instagram accounts of Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME)-accredited General Surgery residency programs and their associated surgical departments.
A cross-sectional study of the use of Twitter and Instagram by the 332 ACGME-accredited General Surgery residency programs and their associated departments was conducted in February 2021. Twitter and Instagram accounts were identified by accessing program/department websites as well as social media platform and internet searches. Year of creation, number of followers, and number of posts (July 1, 2018-December 31, 2020) were collected. Trends in usage were compared across years stratified by platform and by account owner (department vs. residency).
Instagram accounts are more than five-times greater for residencies compared to departments (42% vs 8%, p < 0.001). There was not a significant difference between the number of department and residency Twitter accounts (26% vs 23%, p = 0.37). Significantly more residency Instagram and Twitter accounts were created or first posted in 2020 compared to department accounts (Instagram: 100 vs 7, p < 0.001; Twitter: 31 vs 6, p = 0.001). Over 18% of residency programs had both Twitter and Instagram accounts compared to only 6% of departments (p < 0.001). However, department Twitter and Instagram accounts had significantly higher median total posts from 7/1/2018-12/31/2020 (Twitter: p = 0.0001, Instagram p = 0.004). While the number of Instagram followers and accounts being followed were similar between residencies and departments, department Twitter accounts had a larger median number of followers (1141 vs. 430, p=0.003) and account followings (308 vs. 192, p = 0.001) compared to residency accounts.
The number of residency social media accounts has significantly increased in 2020 compared to account creation of departments, with Instagram account creation exceeding that of Twitter and of departments. The opposite pattern in usage was seen related to number of posts, and with Twitter, followers, and number of followings, with departments outpacing residencies. This significant increase in account creation may have been influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic and the change to a virtual interview season, suggesting an unprecedented need for online engagement with applicants. As the increased social media presence will likely persist in future application cycles, further study about the impact of residency social media use on recruitment and applicant decision-making as well as effective strategies, is needed.
普通外科部门继续扩大对社交媒体使用的作用，并且已经越来越多地将社交媒体账户作为宣传和参与居住计划的工具。鉴于 COVID-19 的空前变化以及申请周期的急剧和不可预测的变化，包括使用虚拟面试，这些账户的重要性似乎有所增加，这表明与申请人的在线互动需要增加。本研究的目的是确定经美国研究生医学教育认证委员会 (ACGME) 认证的普通外科居住计划及其相关外科部门的 Twitter 和 Instagram 账户的创建和使用模式。
2021 年 2 月对 332 个经 ACGME 认证的普通外科居住计划及其相关部门的 Twitter 和 Instagram 使用情况进行了横断面研究。通过访问计划/部门网站以及社交媒体平台和互联网搜索来识别 Twitter 和 Instagram 账户。收集了创建年份、关注者人数和帖子数量（2018 年 7 月 1 日至 2020 年 12 月 31 日）。按平台和账户所有者（部门与居住）对各年的使用趋势进行了比较。
与部门相比，居住计划的 Instagram 账户数量多出五倍以上（42%比 8%，p < 0.001）。部门和居住计划的 Twitter 账户数量之间没有显著差异（26%比 23%，p = 0.37）。与部门账户相比，2020 年创建或首次发布的居住计划 Instagram 和 Twitter 账户数量明显更多（Instagram：100 比 7，p < 0.001；Twitter：31 比 6，p = 0.001）。与仅 6%的部门相比，超过 18%的居住计划拥有 Twitter 和 Instagram 账户（p < 0.001）。然而，部门 Twitter 和 Instagram 账户在 2018 年 7 月 1 日至 2020 年 12 月 31 日期间的总帖子中位数明显更高（Twitter：p = 0.0001，Instagram p = 0.004）。虽然居住计划和部门的 Instagram 关注者人数和关注者数量相似，但部门的 Twitter 账户的关注者人数（1141 比 430，p=0.003）和关注者数量（308 比 192，p = 0.001）均高于居住计划账户。
与部门的账户创建相比，2020 年居住计划的社交媒体账户数量显著增加，Instagram 账户的创建超过了 Twitter 和部门。在帖子数量以及 Twitter 的关注者、关注者数量方面，使用模式呈现相反的模式，部门超过了居住计划。这种账户创建的显著增加可能受到 COVID-19 大流行和虚拟面试季变化的影响，这表明与申请人进行在线互动的需求空前。由于社交媒体的存在可能会在未来的申请周期中持续增加，因此需要进一步研究居住计划使用社交媒体对招聘和申请人决策的影响，以及有效的策略。
