Utility of Obstetrics and Gynecology Residency Program Websites and Social Media

Purpose: The COVID-19 pandemic radically changed the residency application process by ushering in a new era of virtual interviews. The objective of this observational study is to understand what information virtual interviewees prioritize most and how OBGYN Residency programs can improve the quality of their websites and social media. Methods: Electronic surveys were sent to fourth-year medical students and OBGYN residents in postgraduate years one to four (PGY-1 to PGY-4). The surveys were sent to all OBGYN residency program coordinators and the coordinators were asked to disseminate the surveys to their residents. The survey remained available for six weeks; all responses were anonymous and voluntary. Questions were asked to determine the influence residency-specific websites and social media (Twitter, Instagram, Facebook) had on their residency selection process. Results: There were 198 survey respondents at various levels of training: 31.82% fourth-year medical students, 20.71% PGY-1, 18.69% PGY-2, 13.13% PGY-3, and 15.66% PGY-4. From our cohort, fourth-year medical students, PGY-1, and PGY-2 residents had virtual interviews while PGY-3 and PGY-4 residents had in-person interviews. All survey respondents reviewed at least one program website with 61.62% reporting that they reviewed all program websites. Ranked on a scale of 1 (not important) to 5 (most important), both virtual and in-person interviewees reported that the most important information they were interested in finding on residency websites included current resident profiles (mean = 4.48), rotation schedule (mean = 4.27), application cycle information (mean = 4.26), post-residency employment or match (mean = 4.18), and salary and benefits (mean = 4.04). Compared to in-person interviewees, virtual interviewees were more interested in current resident profiles (P=0.227), salary and benefits (P=0.0124), and video tours (P=0.007). Regarding social media, 91.92% reviewed at least one program’s social media, with about a quarter reporting that they reviewed all program’s social media. Virtual interviewees accessed social media more than in-person interviewees (P<0.001). The majority of respondents reported websites (89%) and social media (80%) were at least somewhat important to their decision to apply to a program. Social media did not influence the decision to apply as much for in-person interviewees compared to virtual interviewees (P<0.001). 78.79% of respondents reported websites or social media were at least somewhat important to their overall ranking of programs. Websites and social media did not influence ranking as much for in-person interviewees compared to virtual interviewees (P<0.001). Conclusion: With the shift to virtual interviews, websites and social media platforms have become a vital part of the application process. Compared to in-person interviewees, virtual interviewees engage and value websites and social media more. This may represent a larger, evolving change in how interviewees evaluate programs’ goodness-of-fit the new era of virtual interviews. We recommend keeping programs’ virtual platforms up to date and full of information to give residency candidates a comprehensive view of the programs.