M. Neelakantan is a pediatric intern, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan. At the time this project was conducted, she was a fourth-year medical student, Western Michigan University Homer Stryker M.D. School of Medicine, Kalamazoo, Michigan.
N.M. Heitkamp is a pediatric intern, Eastern Virginia Medical School, Norfolk, Virginia. At the time this project was conducted, he was a fourth-year medical student, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Indiana.
Acad Med. 2022 Jul 1;97(7):1012-1016. doi: 10.1097/ACM.0000000000004623. Epub 2022 Jun 23.
The landscape of pediatric medical education changed significantly in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Fourth-year medical students applying to pediatric residency programs were particularly affected by alterations to traditional away rotations, the inability to conduct in-person visits, and resulting changes in ways of communicating with residency programs. Applicants were concerned about the virtual component of the application cycle and worried as to how to manage the COVID-19-related changes. Program leaders also faced apprehension at how to close communication gaps and effectively use virtual tools to reach applicants.
Founders of the Twitter-based @FuturePedsRes (FPR) organization recognized these concerns and developed a webinar series during the 2020-2021 academic year to create opportunities for programs and applicants to communicate. Leaders of the Association of Pediatric Program Directors and the Council on Medical Student Education in Pediatrics joined as sponsors and co-hosts. The #PedsMatch21 webinar series consisted of 9 total webinars: 2 overviews, 5 regional, 1 for osteopathic students, and 1 for international medical graduates.
A total of 138 pediatric residency programs across the country participated in the #PedsMatch21 webinar series. Each webinar brought in a mean of 431 attendees, from the United States and several other countries. Follow-up surveys immediately after each webinar and again at the end of the interview season demonstrated that the webinars decreased applicants' anxiety, provided helpful information on the virtual season, and increased their awareness of programs.
The #PedsMatch21 webinar series demonstrated utility in addressing applicants' concerns and allowing applicants access to a greater number of programs. Webinar-based strategies should be considered across all medical specialties as a useful method of providing accessible forums for programs and applicants.
COVID-19 大流行后，儿科医学教育的格局发生了重大变化。申请儿科住院医师项目的四年级医学生尤其受到传统外科学科变动、无法进行面对面访问以及与住院医师项目沟通方式变化的影响。申请人对申请周期的虚拟部分感到担忧，并担心如何管理与 COVID-19 相关的变化。项目负责人也对如何缩小沟通差距以及如何有效地使用虚拟工具来接触申请人感到担忧。
基于 Twitter 的@FuturePedsRes（FPR）组织的创始人认识到这些担忧，并在 2020-2021 学年期间开发了一个网络研讨会系列，为项目和申请人创造沟通机会。儿科学计划主任协会和儿科学医学学生教育理事会的领导人作为赞助商和联合主持人加入。#PedsMatch21 网络研讨会系列共包括 9 个网络研讨会：2 个概述、5 个区域、1 个针对骨科学生、1 个针对国际医学毕业生。
全国共有 138 个儿科住院医师项目参加了#PedsMatch21 网络研讨会系列。每个网络研讨会的平均参会人数为 431 人，来自美国和其他几个国家。每次网络研讨会结束后立即进行的后续调查以及面试季节结束时的调查表明，网络研讨会降低了申请人的焦虑感，提供了有关虚拟赛季的有用信息，并提高了他们对项目的认识。
#PedsMatch21 网络研讨会系列证明了它在解决申请人的担忧并使申请人能够接触更多项目方面的效用。网络研讨会策略应该在所有医学专业中被考虑，作为为项目和申请人提供可访问论坛的有用方法。
