Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2021 Aug 31;21(1):464.
doi: 10.1186/s12909-021-02895-2.

Adaptations in anesthesiology residency programs amid the COVID-19 pandemic: virtual approaches to applicant recruitment

Donaldson C Lee  1 , Alexander M Kofskey  2 , Nikhi P Singh  2 , Timothy W King  2 , Paul D Piennette  2   3
Affiliations

Adaptations in anesthesiology residency programs amid the COVID-19 pandemic: virtual approaches to applicant recruitment

Donaldson C Lee et al. BMC Med Educ. .

Abstract

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic significantly impacted residency recruitment in 2020, posing unique challenges for programs and applicants alike. Anesthesiology programs have adopted alternate methods of recruitment, including virtual open houses and social media, due to limiting personal contact rules implemented by AAMC. This study was undertaken to determine the frequency of virtual events hosted and social media accounts created by programs.

Methods: Anesthesiology residency programs and departments were examined for social media presence on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. Programs' websites and social media posts were reviewed for virtual open house opportunities. Available sub-internships were collected from the Visiting Student Application Service database. Data was collected after 2020-2021 pre-interview recruitment in October 2020.

Results: Of 153 total anesthesiology residency programs, 96 (63%) had some form of social media presence. The platforms of choice for programs with social media accounts included Twitter (71, or 46%), Instagram (67, or 44%), and Facebook (47, or 31%). Forty of seventy-six residency-affiliated accounts were created after March 1, 2020; Instagram accounts (26 of 40) represented most of these. Most Anesthesiology programs (59%) offered virtual open houses for prospective applicants. Twitter (25%), Instagram (22%), and Facebook (8%) were used by programs to advertise these events.

Conclusions: Social media presence of anesthesiology residency programs has grown steadily over the past decade, with exponential growth experienced in 2020. This data suggests that anesthesiology residency programs are employing new, mostly virtual, methods to reach prospective applicants during an unprecedented application cycle amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.

Keywords: Application; COVID; Open house; Recruitment; Residency; Social media; Virtual.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Anesthesiology Social Media Accounts by Creation Year, 2009–2020
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Anesthesiology Social Media Accounts by Creation Month, March–October 2020
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Gabrielson AT, Kohn JR, Sparks HT, et al. Proposed changes to the 2021 residency application process in the wake of COVID-19. Acad Med. 2020;95(9):1346–1349. doi: 10.1097/ACM.0000000000003520. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Association of American Medical Colleges. Away rotations of U.S medical school graduates by intended specialty. In: 2019 AAMC medical school graduation questionnaire. 2019. https://aamc-orange.global.ssl.fastly.net/production/media/filer_public/.... Accessed 17 Mar 2021.
    1. Association of American Medical Colleges. Medical student away rotations and in-person interview for 2020–21 residency cycle. 2020. https://www.aamc.org/what-we-do/mission-areas/medical-education/away-rot.... Accessed 9 Nov 2020.
    1. American Society of Anesthesiologists. COVID-19 resources for medical students and residents. 2020. https://www.asahq.org/education-and-career/asa-medical-student-component.... Accessed 9 Nov 2020.
    1. Renew JR, Ladlie B, Gorlin A, Long T. The impact of social media on anesthesia resident recruitment. J Educ Perioper Med. 2019;21(1):E632. - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources