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Social Media Use in Academic Plastic Surgery Training Programs Shows Exponential Growth

Strategic Insights

— 1 min read

Research conducted at the University of Pennsylvania has uncovered a significant trend of social media adoption among academic plastic surgery training programs. The study examined the utilization of Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter by program directors, chiefs/chairs, and training programs, revealing that the majority of these accounts are used for personal or professional purposes. The findings suggest that social media use in academic plastic surgery is growing exponentially, with over half of residency programs now having Instagram accounts.

Key Takeaways:

  • Facebook is the most popular social media platform among chiefs/chairs (34, 35.7%), followed by Instagram (20, 21.1%) and Twitter (19, 20.0%).
  • Facebook is used more by program directors (31, 32.6%) followed by Instagram (22, 23.1%) and Twitter (15, 15.7%).
  • The majority of Facebook and Twitter leadership accounts are for personal use (62%-67%), whereas Twitter is used primarily for professional purposes (60%-84%).
  • Training program social media use is rising, with Instagram and Twitter presence growing at exponential rates (R-2= 0.97 and 0.97, respectively).
  • Program leaders from top-ranked hospitals or Doximity training programs have more followers on social media.
  • Over half of residency programs have Instagram accounts, with the majority having 2 or more accounts (37, 67.3%).
  • West coast programs have more Instagram followers than other geographic regions, significantly more than Southern programs (P= 0.05).

Statistics:

  • 54 (56.8%) training programs have Instagram accounts.
  • 29 (30.5%) training programs have Facebook accounts.
  • 27 (28.4%) training programs have Twitter accounts.
  • Program accounts with more followers are affiliated with top-ranked hospitals (P= 0.0042) or top-ranked Doximity training programs (P= 0.02).
  • West coast programs have significantly more Instagram followers than Southern programs (P= 0.05).

Sources:

  • An Update On Social Media In Academic Plastic Surgery Training Programs the Rising Trend of Likes, Shares, and Retweets. Annals of Plastic Surgery, 2020;85(2):1.
  • Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Two Commerce Sq, 2001 Market St, Philadelphia, PA 19103, USA. (Lippincott Williams and Wilkins - www.lww.com; Annals of Plastic Surgery - journals.lww.com/annalsplasticsurgery/pages/default.aspx)
  • Said Charbel Azoury, University of Pennsylvania, Dept. of Surgery, Division of Plastic Surgery, Philadelphia, PA 19104, United States.

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