Content Evaluation of Integrated Plastic Surgery Residency Program Websites Regarding Sub-internships

Sub-internships are an integral part of the residency application process for competitive specialties, including plastic and reconstructive surgery (PRS). This study evaluates the quality of online information regarding sub-internships offered by PRS programs.

All the US integrated PRS residency programs were identified on Fellowship and Residency Electronic Interactive Database. Each program's website was assessed for the presence of 4 criteria: mention of a sub-internship offered, contact information of rotation coordinator, learning objectives, and a web page dedicated solely to the sub-internship. Each residency program was assigned a website sub-internship (WSI) score from 0 to 4 accordingly.

We identified 81 residency programs. Fifty-two residency program received a score of 0, and 6 programs received a score of 4. The mean WSI score was 1.0 for community-based programs, compared with 0.98 for university-based programs (P = 0.93). There was a correlation between WSI score and number of faculty (r = 0.52; P < 0.0000) and number of residents per year (r = 0.34; P = 0.002). In logistic regression model, number of faculty [odds ratio (OR), 1.18; P = 0.003], large program size (OR, 12.1; P = 0.009), and southeast location (OR, 30.3; P = 0.034) were found to be important predictors for PRS programs to mention at least one criterion.

A majority of the programs did not have any online information available on their websites regarding plastic surgery sub-internships. There is no difference between academic and community-based programs with regard to the quality of information. Programs with more trainees and faculty have higher odds of providing information about sub-internships offered at their institution.