Background: The role of the internet continues to expand, particularly in the realm of graduate medical education. Residency program directors commonly use websites to share information with applicants. As social media (SM) use grows, the role of residency-based SM accounts in recruiting prospective residents remains unclear.
Objective: We sought to delineate which SM platforms prospective anesthesia residents have accounts and which platforms they use to research anesthesia residency programs.
Methods: Following the results of the National Residency Match Program (NRMP) in March 2018, we anonymously surveyed anesthesiology resident candidates from all three Mayo Clinic residency sites and inquired about which SM platforms candidates maintain a profile, which they used to evaluate residencies, and to what degree the content influenced their decision.
Results: A total of 219 surveys were distributed that resulted in 89 responses (40.6%, 89/219). Most respondents have a Facebook account (94.4%, 84/89) while Doximity was the most commonly used SM platform to research programs (86.5%, 77/89). Most respondents (52.8%, 47/89) felt the presence of a residency-based SM account had an impact on their evaluation of prospective programs. Most respondents (50.5%, 45/89) used an internet search to research programs, while a large percentage (42.7%, 38/89) used a combination of internet search engines and SM platforms.
Conclusions: While an internet search was the most commonly used technique to research programs, many applicants also used SM platforms. Doximity was the most commonly SM platform, however, more applicants have Facebook accounts, suggesting programs can use this platform to reach prospective applicants.
Keywords: Communication; Professionalism; Resident recruitment; Social media.