Perspectives of Residency Applicants and Program Directors on the Role of Social Media in the 2021 Urology Residency Match

Abstract

Objectives: To perform a survey assessing the use of, attitudes towards, and perceived utility of social media (SoMe) in the 2021 urology residency match.

Methods: We distributed surveys to urology residency applicants and program directors (PDs) via the Urology Match 2021 Google Spreadsheet and email. The survey collected demographic information as well as SoMe activity, perceived pressure to use SoMe, match results, and attitudes regarding the utility of SoMe in the match process.

Results: A total of 108/528 (20%) applicants registered for the 2021 match and 61/142 (43%) PDs completed the survey. More applicants than PDs felt that SoMe helped them gain better insight into residency programs or applicants, respectively. Fewer applicants than PDs felt that SoMe activity provided a benefit to them in the match process. No significant relationship was found between SoMe viewing frequency, posting frequency, or tweetorial use with match outcomes. The majority of PDs believed that SoMe played a more important role in the 2021 match process than previous years while 15% and 12% reported that an applicant's SoMe activity helped or hurt the chances of matching to their program respectively.

Conclusions: SoMe, particularly Twitter, was widely used in the 2021 match by both applicants and PDs. A majority of applicants and PDs believed that SoMe use aided them in some way in the match process, yet there was no relationship between the volume or type of applicant SoMe activity and match outcomes.