Assessing the influence of neurology Residency's social media presence on Applicants' decision to apply to US residency training programs

Objective: The COVID-19 pandemic extensively changed the United States residency application process, including transitioning interviews from in-person to virtually. This study aims to determine the effect of a neurology residency programs' social media presence on applicants and to identify aspects of the program's social media profile influencing students' decisions to apply. Methods: This is an observational cross-sectional study of neurology residency applicants utilizing a 10-question survey distributed from October 2022 to March 2023. 115/176 (65%) applicants participated. Statistical tests were performed using SPSS Statistics. Categorical variables were presented as percentages of the total group. Categorical Likert Scale responses were assigned numerical values from one to five and presented as means. Results: Most participants (87.8%) used social media to learn about neurology residency programs. Most participants (52.5) used both Instagram and X (formerly Twitter). Prominent factors affecting program selection were the number of posts and format, layout, or aesthetics of the social media profile. The most influential posts pertained to program culture, with the least influential posts highlighting specific residents. Social media presence had a small-moderate effect on selecting programs for application, and a small effect on ranking programs. Conclusion: Overall, social media profiles have a small to moderate impact on the decision to apply to a specific neurology program, with less effect on the ranking process. These findings can assist residency programs in tailoring social media presence to better align with the preferences of applicants.