JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

There is limited data regarding the effectiveness and impact of social media on anesthesia residency applicants’ evaluation of potential programs, particularly in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Objective:

We hypothesized that given COVID-19 restrictions on visiting rotations and the interview process, social media presence of anesthesiology residency programs would play a greater role in how applicants evaluated residency programs.

Methods:

All anesthesia residency applicants who applied to the authors’ program were sent a link to a survey along with statements regarding the anonymity and optional nature of the survey. The 20-item survey included questions regarding sub-internship rotation completion, social media resource use and impact, and demographics.

Results:

The survey was sent out to 1,091 individuals who applied to the Mayo Clinic – Arizona anesthesiology residency program and 640 unique responses recorded for a response rate of 58.6%. Many respondents reported an inability to complete 2 or more planned sub-internships due to COVID-19 restrictions (55.9%), with 25% of applicants reporting inability to do any visiting student rotations. Official websites (91.5%), Doximity (47.6%), Instagram (38.5%), and Twitter (19.4%) were reported as the most used resource by applicants. A large proportion of applicants agreed that social media was an effective means to inform applicants (67.3%) and that it positively impacted their perception of the program (57.5%).

Conclusions:

As a result of COVID-19 restrictions in 2020-2021, many applicants were unable to complete planned visiting student rotations. Social media was an effective means to inform applicants and generally positively impacted applicants' perception of programs. Thus, residency programs should consider investing time and resources towards building a social media presence.