University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Department of Surgery, Section of Plastic Surgery University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan.
J Surg Educ. 2023 Aug;80(8):1179-1187. doi: 10.1016/j.jsurg.2023.05.015. Epub 2023 Jun 20.
Given recent COVID-19 restrictions on in-person visiting subinternships and interviews, this study sought to evaluate the program information that was most influential to future plastic surgery applicants as they researched residency programs on social media.
An electronic survey targeting medical students interested in plastic surgery was deployed to assess the importance of various information sources in forming perceptions of residency programs. Applicants were invited to participate through an Instagram "Story" (where the survey was embedded) and through an electronic survey link sent via email to interested program applicants and interviewees.
There were 83 respondents, among which 92% were current medical students planning to apply to Plastic Surgery. The most utilized resources that informed program interest were: mentors (86%), peers/partners (60%), and geographic location preference (55%). Among social media content, applicants most desired posts about resident life (66%) and team bonding activities (61%). Overall, 72% of respondents agreed/strongly agreed that social media played a role in informing their interest to apply to a specific residency program.
The study demonstrated that prospective plastic surgery applicants expect programs to have a social media presence, and thus, programs should invest time and thought in their social media strategy. While electronic sources are not the most important sources of information rated among applicants, social media plays an influential role in guiding interest in specific programs. To best inform applicant perspectives during the recruiting process, programs should prioritize content that gives a picture of "resident life" and team dynamics.
鉴于最近 COVID-19 对实习医师和面试的实地访问限制，本研究旨在评估在社交媒体上研究住院医师计划时，对未来整形外科申请者最具影响力的计划信息。
一项针对对整形外科感兴趣的医学生的电子调查旨在评估各种信息源在形成对住院医师计划的看法方面的重要性。通过 Instagram“故事”（其中嵌入了调查）和通过电子邮件发送给感兴趣的计划申请者和面试者的电子调查链接邀请申请者参加。
有 83 名受访者，其中 92%是计划申请整形外科的现任医学生。告知计划兴趣的最常用资源是：导师（86%）、同龄人/合作伙伴（60%）和地理位置偏好（55%）。在社交媒体内容中，申请者最希望发布关于居民生活（66%）和团队建设活动（61%）的帖子。总体而言，72%的受访者同意/强烈同意社交媒体在告知他们申请特定住院医师计划的兴趣方面发挥了作用。
该研究表明，未来的整形外科申请者希望看到计划在社交媒体上的存在，因此，计划应投入时间和精力制定社交媒体策略。虽然电子资源不是申请者中评分最高的信息来源，但社交媒体在引导对特定计划的兴趣方面发挥着重要作用。为了在招聘过程中最好地告知申请者的观点，计划应优先考虑提供“居民生活”和团队动态图片的内容。
