The impact of COVID-19 on the social media practices of orthopaedic surgery residency programs

Background: Social media is a robust outreach tool that allows programs to outreach with prospective applicants while maintaining social distancing policies. The purpose of this study was to evaluate how the COVID-19 pandemic influenced the social media practices of ACGME accredited orthopaedic surgery residency programs. Methods: An analysis of orthopaedic surgery residency social media accounts was performed to identify changes in practices from July 2019 to December 2020. Social media participation was analyzed with respect to program type, location, size, geographical location, and Doximity ranking. Results: A total of 194 residency programs were included in this study. Twitter accounts increased from 56 (28.9%) in December 2019 to 87 (44.8%) in January 2021 while Instagram accounts increased from 16 (8.2%) to 107 (55.2%). Allopathic programs, programs with a higher Doximity Reputation Ranking, and those with more than 35 residents were significantly more likely to have an Instagram or Twitter account (P<0.05). There was a significant increase in the average number of Instagram posts per month in July and September 2020 (P<0.05) 2020 as compared to the same period in 2019. Conclusions: There was an increase in the prevalence of orthopaedic residency social media accounts during the Covid pandemic. Allopathic programs, programs with a higher Doximity Reputation Ranking, and larger programs were more likely to utilize social media. Social media offers another avenue for programs to communicate with applicants and an increasing number of programs are harnessing this tool to connect with the next generation of orthopaedic surgeons. Level of Evidence: Level IV.