Thoracic surgery program websites: Bridging the content gap for improved applicant recruitment.

Objective: To evaluate the website content of all US thoracic training programs, assessing the available content to identify areas for improvement.

Methods: A total of 98 accredited thoracic surgery fellowship and integrated residency programs were evaluated for the presence of 25 important online content items. Two authors assessed each website and social media page individually, and a third author resolved <4% of the initial data disagreement. The total number of alumni represented for each program was also recorded, including a breakdown of what the alumni pursued.

Results: Of the 98 accredited programs, 91 (92.9%) had a website. All 26 integrated residencies had a website, compared with 65 of 72 fellowships (90.3%). The 91 websites contained a mean of 8.2 ± 3.0 out of the 25 online content variables evaluated (33.0%), with rotation information (n = 69; 75.8%), application information (n = 65; 71.4%), program coordinator contact (n = 60; 65.9%), hospital affiliation (n = 49; 53.8%), number of positions per year (n = 49; 53.8%), and faculty listing (n = 46; 50.5%) found on ≥50% of the program websites. Areas lacking were retention rate (0% reported), social media links (n = 3; 3.3%), written and oral exam pass rates (both n = 5; 5.5%), graduate placement (n = 11; 12%), call duties (n = 12; 13.2%), cases performed (n = 17; 18.7%), and salary/benefits (n = 25; 27.5%).

Conclusions: This study identifies gaps in content for prospective thoracic surgery applicants. Important information such as retention rate, social media links, exam pass rates, outcomes of graduates, call duties, cases performed, and salary/benefits were lacking in program websites. The improvement of websites may represent a straightforward and low-cost intervention that programs can undertake to enhance the recruitment of prospective applicants.