Orthopaedic Program Reputation and Association With Social Media Utilization and Engagement

Background: The associations of orthopaedic social media metrics with US News & World Report (USNWR) scores have not been well defined and are the focus of this study. Methods: Orthopaedic surgery departments and residency programs were matched to the USNWR overall orthopaedic score and professional opinion subscore. Corresponding Instagram and Twitter accounts were evaluated for the number of followers, number following, and posts. Correlations between these metrics and rank/reputation were assessed. Pearson correlations and Student t tests were used with significance set at P < 0.05. Results: Of the 192 departments associated with residency programs, there were social media accounts for 150 (78.1%) and USNWR rankings for 186 (96.9%), with an overlap of 147 (76.6%). Instagram accounts were identified for 138 (93.9%) and Twitter accounts for 85 (57.8%). Correlations were highest for the opinion subscore and number of followers (Instagram department R = 0.894, Instagram residency R = 0.338, Twitter department R = 0.808, and Twitter residency R = 0.878, P, 0.001 for each), less for the number of posts (Instagram department R = 0.590, Twitter department R = 0.521, and Twitter residency R = 0.696, P, 0.001 for each). Conclusion: Social media metrics correlated with USNWR scores. Focusing on such social media platforms may help further the reputation, audience engagement, and ranking of orthopaedic departments and residencies.