The Content and Accessibility of Orthopaedic Residency Program Websites

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Surgical Training
• Digital Health

Background:

• Orthopaedic surgery residency applications are highly competitive.
• Program websites are crucial for prospective applicants to assess program fit.
• Previous evaluations of these websites are limited, with the last study conducted in 2001.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the content and accessibility of orthopaedic surgery residency program websites.
• To compare current website content with historical data and fellowship program websites.

Main Methods:

• Identified 189 orthopaedic surgery residency programs via the Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS) for the 2020 cycle.
• Assessed website accessibility through ERAS links and Google searches.
• Evaluated 183 websites based on 20 criteria for recruitment and education, comparing findings to a 2001 study.

Main Results:

• 183 orthopaedic residency websites were analyzed, with only 3.2% inaccessible.
• Recruitment content averaged 73.3% and educational content 44.9% across websites.
• Significant increases in both content types were observed compared to 2001; recruitment content exceeded fellowship programs, while educational content slightly lagged.

Conclusions:

• This study provides a contemporary assessment of orthopaedic residency website content after a nearly 20-year gap.
• While accessibility is high, significant variability exists in content presentation.
• Standardization and enhanced recruitment/education content on program websites could benefit both programs and applicants.