• Kari Nilsen, Anne Walling, Philip Dooley, Kimberly Krohn, Rick Kellerman, and Jumana Antoun.
• University of Kansas School of Medicine - Wichita - Department of Family and Community Medicine.
• Fam Med. 2021 Oct 1; 53 (9): 766-772.

Background And ObjectivesCurrent literature on review of applicant social media (SoMe) content for resident recruitment is scarce. With the recent increase in the use of privacy settings, and the cost of the recruitment process, the aim of this study was to describe the practice and outcomes of review of applicant SoMe in resident recruitment and its association with program director or program characteristics.MethodsThis study was part of the 2020 Council of Academic Family Medicine's Educational Research Alliance (CERA) annual survey of family medicine residency program directors (PDs) in the United States.ResultsThe overall response rate for the survey was 39.8% (249/626). About 40% of PDs reported reviewing applicant SoMe content. The majority (88.9%) of programs did not inform applicants of their SoMe review practices. The most common findings of SoMe review were that the content raised no concerns (38/94; 40.4%) or was consistent with the application material (34/94; 36.2%). Forty PDs (17.0%) have ever moved an applicant up or down the rank list based on SoMe review. Review of applicant SoMe was not statistically associated with program size, program type, PD age, PD SoMe use, or program SoMe use.ConclusionsSoMe review has not become routine practice in family medicine resident recruitment. The outcome of SoMe review was mostly consistent with the applicant profile without any concerns and only very few changed the ranking order. This calls for more studies to explore the value of SoMe review for resident selection regarding its effect on future performance.

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