Attitudes and Practices of Surgery Residency Program Directors Toward the Use of Social Networking Profiles to Select Residency Candidates: A Nationwide Survey Analysis (original) (raw)
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Social Media and the Orthopaedic Surgery Residency Application Process
Cureus
Introduction: 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. Methods: 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. Results: 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. Discussion: 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.
To Post or Not to Post: Does Applicants’ Social Media Affect Family Medicine Resident Recruitment?
Family Medicine, 2021
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Current literature on review of applicant social media (SoMe) content for resident recruitment is scarce. With the recent increase in the use of privacy settings, and the cost of the recruitment process, the aim of this study was to describe the practice and outcomes of review of applicant SoMe in resident recruitment and its association with program director or program characteristics. METHODS: This study was part of the 2020 Council of Academic Family Medicine's Educational Research Alliance (CERA) annual survey of family medicine residency program directors (PDs) in the United States. RESULTS: The overall response rate for the survey was 39.8% (249/626). About 40% of PDs reported reviewing applicant SoMe content. The majority (88.9%) of programs did not inform applicants of their SoMe review practices. The most common findings of SoMe review were that the content raised no concerns (38/94; 40.4%) or was consistent with the application material (34/94; 36.2%). Forty PDs (17.0%) have ever moved an applicant up or down the rank list based on SoMe review. Review of applicant SoMe was not statistically associated with program size, program type, PD age, PD SoMe use, or program SoMe use. CONCLUSIONS: SoMe review has not become routine practice in family medicine resident recruitment. The outcome of SoMe review was mostly consistent with the applicant profile without any concerns and only very few changed the ranking order. This calls for more studies to explore the value of SoMe review for resident selection regarding its effect on future performance.
Social Media Use Continues to Increase Among Orthopaedic Residency Programs in the United States
Arthroscopy, Sports Medicine, and Rehabilitation, 2021
Purpose: To evaluate the social media usage of orthopaedic residency programs, program directors (PDs), and department chairs across Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter and to determine which types of social media posts are indicative of increased user following. Methods: A systematic online search strategy was performed in October 2020 to identify all allopathic orthopaedic surgery residency program accounts on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. Instagram posts were further analyzed to evaluate the type of post that significantly correlated with increased follower counts. Results: Of 158 orthopaedic surgery programs, 69 (43.7%) had Instagram accounts, 52 (32.9%) had Facebook accounts, and 54 (34.2%) had Twitter accounts. Program presence on Instagram and Twitter continued to grow exponentially (R 2 ¼ 0.99 and R 2 ¼ 0.95, respectively). Regarding program leadership, a total of 151 PDs and 156 chairs were identified. Of these, 21 PDs (14%) and 8 chairs (5.1%) had Instagram accounts. The number of posts and the numbers of educational, social, program information, and operative posts (P < .01) significantly correlated with increased followers on Instagram. Conclusions: Fewer than one-half of orthopaedic surgery residency programs and fewer than one-quarter of PDs and department chairs have a social media presence. However, the number of residency programs on social media continues to rise year-over-year. The total number of posts; the amount of educational, social, and program information; and the number of operative posts significantly correlated with increased followers on Instagram. Clinical Relevance: With the growing prevalence of social media, orthopaedic surgery residency programs have the opportunity to connect with future applicants and disseminate informational content regarding their programs.
Medical student views on the use of Facebook profile screening by residency admissions committees
Purpose Previous research has shown that >50% of residency programmes indicate that inappropriate Facebook postings could be grounds for rejecting a student applicant. This study sought to understand medical students’ views regarding the impact of their Facebook postings on the residency admissions process. Study design In 2011–2012, we conducted a national survey of 7144 randomly selected medical students representing 10% of current enrollees in US medical schools. Students were presented with a hypothetical scenario of a residency admissions committee searching Facebook and finding inappropriate pictures of a student, and were asked how the committee ought to regard these pictures. Results The response rate was 30% (2109/7144). Respondents did not differ from medical students nationally with regard to type of medical school and regional representation. Of the three options provided, the majority of respondents (63.5%) indicated ‘the pictures should be considered along with other factors, but should not be grounds for automatic rejection of the application’. A third (33.7%) believed ‘the pictures should have no bearing on my application; the pictures are irrelevant’. A small minority of respondents (2.8%) felt ‘the pictures should be grounds for automatic rejection of the application’. Conclusions That the views of students regarding the consequences of their online activity differ so greatly from the views of residency admissions committees speaks to the need for better communication between these parties. It also presents opportunities for medical schools to help students in their residency application process by increasing awareness of social media screening strategies used by some residency programmes, and fostering self-awareness around the use of social media during medical school and especially during the residency application process.
Aesthetic Surgery Journal
Background: Patients increasingly rely on online resources to make healthcare decisions. Google dominates the search engine market; first-page results receive most of the web traffic and therefore serve as an important indicator of consumer reach. Objectives: Our objective was to analyze the respective importance of physician academic pedigree, experience, and social media presence on plastic surgeon Google first-page search result placement. Methods: A Google.com search was conducted in the top 25 United States metropolitan areas to identify the top 20 websites of board-certified plastic surgeons. Social media presence was quantified by tracking the number of followers on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for every surgeon as well as medical school and year of graduation. The primary outcome was website ranking in the first page of Google search results. To identify the independent predictors of presence on the front page, we performed a multivariate logistic regression. Results: Total number of social medial followers was associated with Google front-page placement (P < 0.001), whereas medical school ranking and years in practice were not (P = 0.17 and 0.39, respectively). A total 19.6% of plastic surgeon practices in our study cohort still had no social media accounts whatsoever. Conclusions: For the past few decades, plastic surgery practices relied on referrals, word of mouth, and the surgeon's reputation and academic pedigree to attract new patients. It is now clear that this practice-building model is being rapidly supplanted by a new paradigm based on social media presence to reach potential patients.
The immense popularity of the internet, the power of search engines, and the abundance of information on social media sites have completely transformed the way patients obtain information and choose their plastic surgeon nowadays. Therefore the importance of cultivating a positive online reputation can't be ignored. This online presence and reputation is built primarily around a personal website, professional listings, ratings, profiles, patient reviews and social networking. While personal and professional websites are often not an option for plastic surgery trainees, online presence can still be maintained by careful use of high-traffic social sharing sites. In this article, we discuss ways that trainees and junior plastic surgeons can tailor their online profile to establish an internet presence without investing in a personal website.
2014
Social media has become a staple of everyday life among over one billion people worldwide. A social networking presence has become a hallmark of vibrant and transparent communications. It has quickly become the preferred method of communication and information sharing. It offers the ability for various entities, especially residency programs, to create an attractive internet presence and "brand" the program. Social media, while having significant potential for communication and knowledge transfer, carries with it legal, ethical, personal, and professional risks. Implementation of a social networking presence must be deliberate, transparent, and optimize potential benefits while minimizing risks. This is especially true with residency programs. The power of social media as a communication, education, and recruiting tool is undeniable. Yet the pitfalls of misuse can be disastrous, including violations in patient confidentiality, violations of privacy, and recruiting misconduct. These guidelines were developed to provide emergency medicine residency programs leadership with guidance and best practices in the appropriate use and regulation of social media, but are applicable to all residency programs that wish to establish a social media presence. [West J Emerg Med. 2014;15(1):26-30.]
Revisiting Social Network Utilization by Physicians-in-Training
Journal of Graduate Medical Education, 2010
Editor's Note: The online version of this article includes a policy regarding the use of social networking sites and applications in order to address present and future issues of professionalism in the use of social media.