Improving the online presence of residency programs to ameliorate COVID-19’s impact on residency applications

<b>Objectives</b>: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has created several challenges for residency programs and prospective interns alike during the upcoming application cycle, including the cancellation of away sub-internships and in-person interviews. Given prior research documenting that applicants’ application and ranking decisions are significantly influenced by residency webpages, a potential solution to the loss of in-person experiences during the pandemic is the expansion of residency programs’ online presence through their program websites, provision of virtual grand rounds and pseudo-away rotations, and enhancement of virtual interviews. This study seeks to summarize the existing literature on these areas and provide concrete suggestions for improving programs’ virtual presence.<b>Methods</b>: The authors summarize earlier literature querying the content of program websites across 14 medical specialties, which documented significant gaps in the content of interest to applicants.<b>Results</b>: Among 14 analyzed specialties, the majority of programs had a functional website (&gt;90%), with the exception of interventional radiology (73.9%). However, significant gaps in content were documented, with the percentage of content variables contained on websites ranging from 33.3% to 70.5% (median = 47.0%, interquartile range = 37.8-52.6%). Program websites were also limited by underrepresentation of content most valued by applicants as well as potential areas of inaccurate or outdated information.<b>Conclusions</b>: There are several interventions programs can undertake to address existing gaps in online presence. During an application cycle facing unprecedented resource strain, bolstering the online presence of programs may facilitate an improved fit between programs and future residents.

<b>研究目标</b>: 2019冠状病毒病（COVID-19）大流行在即将到来的住院医师培训项目申请季中，给住院医师培训项目及潜在住院医师申请者均带来了诸多挑战，其中包括外出亚专科见习实习（away sub-internships）的取消与线下面试的停办。既往研究证实，申请者的申请与志愿排序决策会显著受到住院医师培训项目官网的影响，因此疫情期间线下体验缺失的潜在解决方案包括：通过项目官网拓展住院医师培训项目的线上曝光度、提供虚拟大查房（virtual grand rounds）与模拟外出轮转（pseudo-away rotations），以及优化虚拟面试流程。本研究旨在梳理上述领域的现有文献，并为优化项目的线上展示提供具体可行的建议。<b>研究方法</b>: 作者对既往相关文献进行综述，梳理了覆盖14个医学专科的培训项目官网内容的研究成果，上述研究已证实相关官网在申请者关注的内容维度存在显著缺失。<b>研究结果</b>: 在分析的14个专科中，绝大多数项目（＞90%）拥有可正常访问的官网，仅介入放射学（interventional radiology）专科的官网可用率为73.9%。但研究同时发现官网内容存在显著缺口：官网涵盖的内容变量占比区间为33.3%至70.5%（中位数为47.0%，四分位距为37.8~52.6%）。此外，住院医师培训项目官网还存在两大局限：一是未充分展示申请者最为重视的内容，二是可能存在信息不准确或过时的问题。<b>研究结论</b>: 培训项目可通过多项干预措施弥补当前线上展示的不足。在本次面临前所未有的资源紧张的申请季中，强化项目的线上展示能力，或有助于优化项目与未来住院医师之间的匹配度。