Butler Andrew, Berke Chandler, Zareef Usman, Tawfik Amr M, Varghese Bobby, Frias Giulia, Gatt Charles, Katt Brian M
Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, New Brunswick, USA.
Cureus. 2022 Apr 7;14(4):e23933. doi: 10.7759/cureus.23933. eCollection 2022 Apr.
Social media use in the residency application process has been on the rise, yet applicant and program director (PD) perspectives in orthopaedic residency have not been explored in depth. Our objective is to evaluate perspectives of orthopaedic residency applicants and PDs on social media usage and its impact on the residency application process.
Cross-sectional survey study conducted in 2021 with two related, anonymous surveys sent to residency applicants and PDs. One hundred thirteen of 562 (20.1%) applicants to our institution and 29 of 148 (19.6%) PDs listed on the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) website responded to our survey and were included in the analysis.
Applicants reported learning about residency programs through Instagram (69.2%), the program website (58.9%), and Doximity (29.9%). Thirty-four percent of applicants reported social media influencing their rank list, with non-training-related posts being the most impactful. PDs reported that 97% of their programs have an official web page, 41% have an active Instagram site, 27% have a Twitter account but none regularly update Doximity. Just over 48% of PDs reported institutional support for online content creation. Financial investment varied, with 35% reporting no spending, and 24% spending over $2501. In response to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) restrictions, 79% of PDs reported generating increased social media content.
Social media provides a low-cost but far-reaching opportunity for PDs to recruit residents and highlight their respective programs. Social media content should display the culture and lifestyle of the program, with consistency in content creation. PDs should also ensure accuracy on external sites such as Doximity.
社交媒体在住院医师申请过程中的使用呈上升趋势，但骨科住院医师申请中申请人和项目主任（PD）的观点尚未得到深入探讨。我们的目的是评估骨科住院医师申请人和项目主任对社交媒体使用情况及其对住院医师申请过程的影响的看法。
2021年进行了横断面调查研究，向住院医师申请人和项目主任发送了两份相关的匿名调查问卷。我们机构的562名申请人中有113名（20.1%）以及研究生医学教育认证委员会（ACGME）网站上列出的148名项目主任中有29名（19.6%）回复了我们的调查，并被纳入分析。
申请人报告通过Instagram（69.2%）、项目网站（58.9%）和Doximity（29.9%）了解住院医师项目。34%的申请人报告社交媒体影响了他们的排名列表，其中与培训无关的帖子影响最大。项目主任报告称，他们97%的项目有官方网页，41%有活跃的Instagram网站，27%有Twitter账户，但没有一个定期更新Doximity。略多于48%的项目主任报告机构支持在线内容创作。资金投入各不相同，35%的人报告没有支出，24%的人支出超过2501美元。针对2019冠状病毒病（COVID-19）限制措施，79%的项目主任报告增加了社交媒体内容。
社交媒体为项目主任招募住院医师和突出各自项目提供了低成本但影响深远的机会。社交媒体内容应展示项目的文化和生活方式，内容创作要保持一致。项目主任还应确保在Doximity等外部网站上信息的准确性。
