Importance of residency program web sites to emergency medicine applicants

Emergency Medicine (EM) residency program web sites are an important tool that programs use to attract applicants. However, there are only a few studies examining the aspects of a program's web site that are most important to EM applicants. We conducted a cross-sectional study of 142 prospective residency applicants interviewing for an EM position at one of three EM residency programs for the 2003 match. The survey demonstrated that almost all applicants researched EM programs online. The majority (71%) identified geographic location as the most important factor in applying to a specific program. Approximately 40% considered an easily navigated web site as very/moderately important to their application decision-making process. Rotation schedule was also important in applicant decision-making. The Internet is a significant source of information to the majority of applicants in EM. Online information from programs' web sites, although not as significant as geography, influences an applicant's choice of where to apply for a residency position. An easily navigated, complete web site may improve the recruitment of candidates to EM residency programs.