The State of Obstetrics and Gynecology Residency Programs' Social Media Presence. Journal Article

Local Library Link: Find It @ Loyola

Authors: Southworth, E; Santiago, S; Fitzgerald, JT; Graziano, S; Hammoud, MM; Kang Morgan, H
Article Title: The State of Obstetrics and Gynecology Residency Programs' Social Media Presence.
Abstract: OBJECTIVE: Residency applicants view social media as a valuable and professional resource, with a recent review reporting that 10% of respondents reported that a program's social media profile would influence their residency choices. The purpose of this study was to quantify the number of obstetrics and gynecology (OBGYN) residency programs with an Instagram or Twitter account, and to investigate if the program type and size impacts the likelihood of having one of these accounts. With little research on the state of residency programs' social media presence, this is an opportune time to focus on these social media platforms given the popularity of #MedStudentTwitter and Instagram. STUDY DESIGN: The American Medical Association Fellowship and Residency Electronic Interactive Database (FREIDA) was queried for all "Obstetrics and Gynecology" programs in its database, resulting in the identification of 285 programs. Two authors systematically searched the database for these programs' Twitter and Instagram profiles using the program name and website address, then visited the program websites to identify social media account information. Additionally, each program account was searched using the Google search engine with the following algorithm: "Program Name + OBGYN + Twitter/Instagram." The search feature on Twitter and Instagram was also utilized with the following algorithm: "Program Name + OBGYN." All data was collected May 14-15, 2020. Programs self-reported as university-based, community-based, or community-based university affiliated in FREIDA. Once program profiles were identified, creation date, content type, activity, and number of followers were recorded. Chi square analyses and analyses of variance were completed to assess associations and differences. The study received "not regulated" status from the University of Michigan IRB (HUM 00181979, May 2020). RESULTS: Of the 285 OBGYN residency programs, 14 (5%) had only a Twitter account, 58 (20%) had only an Instagram account, and 29 (10%) had both Twitter and Instagram accounts. More than half of university residency programs (56%) had Twitter or Instagram accounts, compared to 17% of community and 22% of community/university programs (p0.001). Programs without social media accounts had significantly fewer residents on average than programs with accounts (Table 1). Findability score was directly correlated to number of followers on both Instagram and Twitter. CONCLUSION: Social media platforms provide a uniform opportunity for programs to share information, and it is notable that less than half of OBGYN residency programs had Instagram or Twitter accounts. Furthermore, there is a striking difference between university and community residency programs' social media presence, with more university programs having active, easily identified accounts. Social media profiles that were easily found included the full program name and links to the program website. Compared to websites that are costly to create and maintain, social media platforms generally only incur time investment.
Journal Title: American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology
ISSN: 1097-6868; 0002-9378
Publisher: Unknown  
Date Published: 2020