How general surgery residency programs present wellness to prospective applicants: A comparative analysis

General surgery residents often experience burnout, which wellness initiatives may help mitigate. Descriptions of wellness initiatives on program websites may influence prospective applicants' decisions. This study aimed to evaluate wellness content on general surgery residency websites in correlation with program characteristics.

Fellowship and Residency Electronic Interactive Database Access (FREIDA) was used to identify residency programs. Data included the program practice setting, size, and location. Program website wellness content was classified into a four-tier hierarchical system.

359 programs were identified with average program size 8.68 (SD = 6.05). Larger programs appeared in higher tiers. Significant differences in tier distribution were found across practice settings. Community/university-affiliated and university programs were more likely to be highly ranked. In the adjusted analysis, Southern and Western programs were predictive of higher tiers.

Wellness advertisement on residency websites varies across programs. Standardizing the presentation of these initiatives could improve applicants' ability to assess programs.