ABSTRACT
Objective
To define urology applicant attitudes and usage trends of social media (SM) during
the 2021 urology match cycle.
Methods
We emailed an anonymous, de-identified 22-question, multiple choice survey to all
applicants to our institution for the 2021 Urology Residency Match. We asked participants
about use of SM and which aspects they found useful in the application process. Univariate
descriptive analyses were conducted based on survey responses. Chi-square analyses
were performed to define significant differences in use of social media and resultant
match outcomes.
Results
Of the 528 students who registered for the 2021 AUA Match, 398 received our survey
(75%), and 144 responded (27% of applicants nationwide). Of survey participants, 49%
made a new account on Twitter while 30% had a preexisting account. Most participants
(71%) had a preexisting Instagram account, while only 3% made a new account. Most
participants agreed Twitter was used as a source to gather information about programs
(84%) and learn about events (89%). Participants found SM most helpful for announcing
event dates (71%) and highlighting resident social life (59%). Applicants did not
match more highly on their rank lists if they used Twitter (P = .427) or Instagram (P = .166) and were not more likely to get more interviews if they used Twitter (P = .246) or Instagram (P = .114)
Conclusion
Applicants found Twitter to be an important source of information through the virtual
interview process. Despite the use of SM by most applicants, published content did
not impact rank list decisions nor did SM engagement predict match outcomes.
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: October 09, 2021
Accepted:
August 1,
2021
Received:
April 5,
2021
Identification
Copyright
© 2021 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
