The content and accessibility of spine surgery fellowship websites and the North American Spine Surgery (NASS) fellowship directory

Gerlach, Erik B.; Plantz, Mark A.; Swiatek, Peter R.; Arpey, Nicholas C.; Cantrell, Colin K.; Divi, Srikanth N.; Hsu, Wellington K.; Patel, Alpesh A.

doi:10.1016/j.spinee.2021.04.011

Cited by 4 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…16 Overall, this can increase the amount of time needed to complete the fellowship application process and thus, place undo administrative burden upon fellowship candidates. Previous studies 3,4,[10][11][12][13][14] have investigated the 13 quality of information provided on web platforms for other surgical specialties, including functional neurosurgical fellowships and neurosurgical residency; however, the present work is the first critical appraisal of skull base fellowship website information.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Previously, Gerlach and colleagues assessed the state of spine fellowship informational resources, which included overlap with many neurosurgical fellowships but was not exclusively neurosurgical. 3 The present study is largely neurosurgical in focus with the caveat that skull base surgery is often multidisciplinary in nature, involving collaboration 12 This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.…”

Section: Comparison With Other Specialty Fellowship Programsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For each recruitment and education variable assessed, outcomes were recorded as the presence or absence of the variable being assessed (►Table 1). [2][3][4][5][6] Web Site Recruitment and Education…”

Section: Web Site Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Similar evaluations of fellowship informational materials have been conducted in other surgical disciplines such as plastic surgery, orthopaedic spine surgery, general surgery, emergency medicine, orthopaedic sports medicine, and hand surgery. 3,4,[11][12][13][14][15] Overall, these studies also draw attention to the dearth of online information available regarding subspecialty fellowships. This may be unfortunate for candidates interested in matching into these fellowships because this information would help potential candidates gain as much insight as possible regarding essential program/training features at an early junction in their training.…”

Section: Comparison To Other Subspecialty Fellowshipsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…►Table 5 presents results from similar analyses of fellowship program informational material in other surgical subspecialties. Previously, Gerlach and colleagues assessed the state of spine fellowship informational resources, which included overlap with many neurosurgical fellowships but was not exclusively neurosurgical 3. The present study is largely neurosurgical in focus with the caveat that skull base surgery is often multidisciplinary in nature, involving collaboration with subspecialties within otorhinolaryngology-head and neck surgery (such as neurotology/lateral skull base surgery and rhinology/anterior skull base surgery).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Assessing the Quality of Recruitment Information on Skull Base Surgical Fellowship Program Websites

Sung,

Ton,

Brown

et al. 2023

J Neurol Surg B Skull Base

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Introduction: The objective of the present study is to assess website accessibility and information availability for individual fellowship programs listed within the AANS, NASBS, ARS, and ANS fellowship directories. Methods: Lists of all accredited skull base surgical programs were obtained from the AANS and NASBS fellowship directories. Duplications in listed programs were removed, and systematic queries via an online search engine were conducted to identify fellowship websites. From each available website, information pertaining to 24 different variables was collected and organized into two categories – recruitment and education. Results: After excluding duplicates, 113 fellowship programs were identified, of which 99 (87.6%) had accessible websites. Of the 48 listed by the NASBS, direct website links were available for 33 (68.8%), email contacts were accessible for 32 (66.7%) and phone numbers were listed for 6 (12.5%). Of the 39 programs listed by the AANS, none included website links, 38 (97.4%) provided an email contact, and 39 (100%) listed a departmental contact telephone number. Of the 99 total programs, fellowship websites displayed an average of 5.46 (42.0%) of the 13 recruitment features and 4.80 (42.6%) of the 11 education features. Programs in the geographic Northeast were significantly less likely to present information pertaining to recruitment (p=0.023). Furthermore, programs in geographic Northeast and West were significantly less likely to present information focused on surgical training and/or education (p=0.006). Conclusion: Although many skull base fellowship programs have maintained comprehensive program websites, certain critical aspects remain deficient, and some programs provide little to no information.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Comparison With Other Specialty Fellowship Programsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Web Site Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Comparison To Other Subspecialty Fellowshipsmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Assessing the Quality of Recruitment Information on Skull Base Surgical Fellowship Program Websites

Sung,

Ton,

Brown

et al. 2023

J Neurol Surg B Skull Base

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Critical evaluation of functional neurosurgical fellowship program websites

Gariscsak

Figueredo

Singh

et al. 2023

World Neurosurgery: X

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A Cross-Sectional Analysis of Military Physician Residency Websites

2022

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Introduction Medical physician residency program websites often serve as the first contact for any prospective applicant. No analysis of military residency program websites has yet been conducted, in contrast to their civilian counterparts. This study evaluated all military residency programs certified by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) 2021-2022 to determine program website comprehensiveness and accessibility and identify areas for improvement. Materials and Methods A list of military residency programs in the USA was compiled using Defense Health Agency Graduate Medical Education resources together with the ACGME database. A total of 15 objective website criteria covering education and recruitment content were assessed by two independent evaluators. Accessibility was also scored. Programs’ website scores were compared by geographic location, specialty affiliation, type of institution partnership, and program size. Analysis was performed with descriptive statistics and comparison via an unpaired t-test or Kruskal–Wallis analysis, as appropriate. Results A total of 124 military residency program websites were evaluated with a range of scores from 0 to 15 out of 15 possible points. Six programs had no identifiable website. All three services were represented with 43% joint-service programs. Content concerning physician education and development was more widely available than content directed toward the recruitment of applicants. The number of residency program websites reporting each content criterion varied greatly, but overall, no single service had a significantly higher score across their residencies’ websites. Significant variation occurred among individual specialties (P < .05) but there was no significant difference in surgical and nonsurgical specialties. Civilian-associated programs (18 programs, 14.5%) were associated with significantly greater website comprehensiveness scored best on informatics measures for recruitment and performed 64% better than military-only programs overall. Conclusions Program information in an accessible website platform allows prospective applicants to gain comprehensive perspectives of programs during the application process without reliance on personal visits and audition rotations. Limitations to in-person experiences, such as those caused by reductions in travel and concern for student safety during the global pandemic caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, may be alleviated by accessible virtual information. Our results indicate that there is opportunity for all military residency programs to improve their websites and better recruit applicants through understanding their audience and optimizing their reach online.

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The content and accessibility of spine surgery fellowship websites and the North American Spine Surgery (NASS) fellowship directory

Cited by 4 publications

References 18 publications

Assessing the Quality of Recruitment Information on Skull Base Surgical Fellowship Program Websites

Assessing the Quality of Recruitment Information on Skull Base Surgical Fellowship Program Websites

Critical evaluation of functional neurosurgical fellowship program websites

A Cross-Sectional Analysis of Military Physician Residency Websites

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