Evaluation of Ophthalmology Residency Program Web Sites

Abstract

Objective This article evaluates the current availability of information on residency program Web sites that may be of interest to residency applicants. Design Cross-sectional analysis of 117 Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME)-accredited ophthalmology residency program Web sites from October 17, 2018 to December 17, 2018. Methods Programs were identified through the ACGME-specialty search, and the URL links provided by the program were evaluated for directing the user to the institution, department, or residency program. If a link was not functional or not provided, programs were identified through a Google search. Web sites were evaluated for having information on how to apply, application requirements and eligibility, and providing a link to the San Francisco (SF) Match. Educational content included: didactic instruction, rotation overview, research requirement information, active and/or past research, institutional conferences, academic conferences, call schedules, and charitable work. Recruitment content included current residents and faculty and their biographies, graduate placement, salary, benefits, surrounding area information, message from the Program Director, Chair, and/or Chief Residents, surgical statistics, affiliated hospital information, selection criteria, and association links. Data was stratified by program size, geographic region, and top 20 hospitals in ophthalmology by the U.S. News & World Report. Results Nonfunctional links were provided by 16.2% of programs, and 3.4% did not provide a link. Application instructions were presented by 83% of programs and 77% provided a link to the SF Match. Greater than 80% provided didactic instruction, rotation overviews, research expectations of residents, and faculty and resident listings. Up to half of programs listed information about application requirements and eligibility, call schedules, surgical statistics, academic conferences, charitable work, salary, and selection criteria. A message to applicants was displayed by 48% of programs, and 16% of programs provided association links. Programs with more than 15 residents provided more educational content than programs with less than 12 (p = 0.042). Differences in recruitment content were observed among programs in the Northeast and West, (p = 0.003) and programs in the South and West (p = 0.037). No other differences were observed. Conclusion The Internet is frequently consulted during the residency application process. Many programs provide basic information, but this can be further optimized to maximize the utility of residency Web sites.

An Analysis of the Diversity and Inclusion Content Featured on Ophthalmology Residency Program Web Sites

“…Additionally, the binary scoring system used in this study is similar to other studies examining residency program content analysis. [16][17][18]20 Finally, although the 12 diversity and inclusion elements included in this study are not a validated measure of program commitment to diversity and inclusion, these criteria have been utilized previously to evaluate residency program Web sites and are based on updated ACGME guidelines. 9,19 In summary, of the 116 nonmilitary ophthalmology residency program Web sites examined, only 16% included more than half of the evaluated diversity and inclusion elements in this study, suggesting potential for residency programs to further their commitment to diversity and inclusion initiatives online.…”

Content Evaluation of Residency Websites for All 159 Anesthesiology ACGME Programs in the USA

“…For example, geographic placement of previous graduates was present on only 42% of anesthesiology program websites, but on 50% and 63% of ophthalmology and orthopedic surgery program websites, respectively. 1,7 Additionally, extended biographies of current residents were present on 73% of ophthalmology residency websites but only 16% of anesthesiology residency websites. 7 This may be related to the smaller relative size of ophthalmology residencies.…”

“…The final criteria were derived from several previous published content analyses of residency websites for other medical specialties, as well as a prior survey that asked anesthesiology residency applicants what information they felt should exist on program websites. 7,8,10,13,14 After a list of preliminary criteria was generated from prior studies, the authors voted to select which criteria were most relevant to the current anesthesiology residency application process. The criteria that we chose were largely based on those deemed "missing but moderately or most important" in the previously published survey of anesthesiology residency applicants.…”

“…Although not all of the criteria generated from prior studies were ultimately included in our analyses, all 26 criteria we chose to include have been analyzed in previously published content analyses of residency websites 1,[4][5][6][7][8]10,13,14 (Table 1). Residency programs were credited for the presence of a criterion if it was directly mentioned on the website or there was a direct link to a departmental or institutional website with the relevant information.…”

“…Several analyses of residency website content for various specialties have been recently published. 1,[6][7][8] However, the latest analyses of anesthesiology residency program websites were 8 and 10 years ago. 9,10 In those studies, the investigators found inconsistencies between programs with regard to content as well as gaps between what residency applicants wanted to see on residency websites and the actual website content available to them.…”