| Summary: | 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.
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