General Surgery Twitter during COVID-19: Tweets, Trends, and Implications for Recruitment Strategies.

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted traditional resident recruitment practices, requiring virtual interviews and new forms of outreach. Social media, such as Twitter, is one tool programs can use to connect with applicants. This study sought to assess changes in Twitter use during the COVID-19 pandemic among general surgery programs. METHODS: Twitter and residency program websites were queried for public Twitter accounts related to general surgery residency programs. Publicly available tweets for available accounts were reviewed for all posts for the period March 15, 2019-November 25, 2020. Thematic analysis of each tweet was performed, and engagement was determined by likes and retweets on each tweet. RESULTS: The number of programs with active Twitter accounts increased after the onset of COVID-19 pandemic, as did the number of tweets, likes-, and retweets-per-tweet. There was a significant increase in the number of tweets regarding resident promotion, program promotion, and virtual event promotion. Tweets received more likes-per-tweet if the subject was program promotion and resident promotion than tweets regarding virtual events. All results were statistically significant (P < .05). DISCUSSION: Twitter use and engagement with residency programs have increased significantly since pandemic onset. Engagement is highest for tweets regarding program and resident promotion as measured by likes-per-tweet and highest for program promotion and virtual events as measured by retweets-per-tweet. Given the nearly nationwide increase in Twitter engagement after pandemic onset, programs should consider the impact of Twitter as a means of communication with applicants and program branding.

A Novel Mock Oral Curriculum for Senior Surgery Residents: Results of a Pilot Study.

INTRODUCTION: The oral general surgery certifying examination (CE) is required for board certification. A curriculum was designed to improve CE passage rates at an academic residency program. Limited literature exists that evaluates a long-term mock oral curriculum for senior residents. This study aims to evaluate the impact of this curriculum on essential elements for clinical practice and CE preparedness. METHODS: The curriculum consisted of weekly meetings with postgraduate year four and postgraduate year five residents (n = 10). Two residents were selected for a video-recorded board-style mock examination with a faculty examiner and peer audience. Each attendee completed a standard evaluation form that assessed score, anxiety, confidence, and medical knowledge. Blood pressure, pulse, and unused time were assessed. A postcurriculum survey was conducted. RESULTS: Medical knowledge had the greatest correlation with overall scores (R2 = 0.733). Positive correlations were seen between confidence and case number for faculty, self, and peer scores (R2 = 0.671, R2 = 0.566, and R2 = 0.729, respectively). There was a positive correlation between confidence and medical knowledge (R2 = 0.575). There was a significant difference between the overall score of nontachycardic versus tachycardic residents (P = 0.00994). CONCLUSIONS: Residents demonstrated increasing confidence as they progressed through the curriculum by self-reported and objective measures. Residents demonstrated improvements in overall scores. Future directions will examine results of the 2-y curriculum experience and CE passage rates to verify that a standardized, structured, weekly, longitudinal curriculum is beneficial for CE preparedness and clinical practice.

Patient and Physician Attitudes Toward Telemedicine in Cancer Clinics Following the COVID-19 Pandemic.

PURPOSE: COVID-19 has infected more than 94 million people worldwide and caused more than 2 million deaths. Patients with cancer are at significantly increased risk compared with the general population. Telemedicine represents a common strategy to prevent viral spread. We sought to evaluate patient with cancer and physician perceptions of telemedicine during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: A 16-question survey was e-mailed to 1,843 active e-mails of patients presenting to one of the six cancer clinics at a comprehensive cancer care center from January 1, 2020, to June 1, 2020. A six-question survey was e-mailed to attending physicians of those clinics. Specialties included Medical Oncology, Hematology-Oncology, Surgical Oncology, Urological Oncology, and Gynecologic Oncology. RESULTS: Three hundred seventy-four patients (20.3%) and 14 physicians (66.7%) responded. Most (68.2%) currently prefer in-person visits, and 80.4% prefer in-person visits following pandemic resolution. More than half (52.2%) of patients preferring virtual visits do so because of convenience. Most (63.1%) patients with cancer are comfortable with a complete physical examination. Surgical patients are more likely to prefer a complete examination (P = .0476). Physicians prefer in-person visits (64.2%) and believe that virtual visits maybe or probably do not provide comparable care (64.2%). 71.4% believe that virtual visits help prevent the spread of infectious disease. CONCLUSION: Given preferences for in-person visits, cancer care teams should be prepared to continue providing in-person visits for many of their patients. The discrepancy between patient and provider concern for spread of infectious disease represents an area where patients may benefit from increased education. Providers should feel comfortable performing physical examinations at their own discretion.