Use of Facebook and Twitter by Residency Programs in Evaluating Applicants

Personal statement. Letters of recommendation. MSPE. Medical school transcript. ERAS application. Your social media presence. All are important components of the residency application. "Wait a minute," you say. "Did I read that right? Social media presence?"

Some residency programs are now assessing an applicant's social media presence, and possibly using the information in the residency selection process. Researchers at the Miller School of Medicine at the University of Miami, led by Dr. Carl Schulman, surveyed 600 medical school admissions officers and residency program directors. Nine percent reported using social networking websites in the selection process. The study was published in the Postgraduate Medical Journal.

“There is no question in my mind that some percentage of medical admissions officers and residency directors do go online and Google and Facebook people to see what they’ve got up on their personal sites,” said Dr. Henry Sondheimer in a Kaiser Health News article. Dr Sondheimer is the senior director of medical education projects at the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC).

In 2008, we raised this as a potential issue in an article written for the Student Doctor Network, and offered advice to residency applicants on how to manage their online presence.

Communicate Meaningful Contributions During the Residency Interview

Which of the following discoveries is credited to a medical student?

A) Heparin

B) Insulin

C) Sinoatrial node

D) Pancreaticobiliary sphincter

E) Ether anesthesia

Give yourself a gold star if you selected any of the above answer choices (if only all standardized exams were this easy!). In fact, the most appropriate answer is not listed and would have been F) All of the Above. You can read about famous discoveries made by medical students in a wonderful article written by Drs. Mark Stringer and Omid Ahmadi published in the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Surgery.

Today's medical students continue to make significant contributions to patient care, teaching, research, and community service. In reviewing ERAS applications, guiding advisees, and conducting mock interview sessions with residency applicants, I have the great opportunity to hear or read about these fantastic accomplishments.

In residency interviews, I often ask applicants, "What sets you apart from other applicants?" or "Why should our program choose you as a resident?" This question is an ideal opportunity to discuss meaningful contributions you have made as a medical student. You  may not have discovered heparin or insulin but I have yet to meet a medical student who has not made a significant contribution.

To help you identify contributions and communicate them effectively during the residency interview, I refer you to an article I wrote several years ago for the Student Doctor Network:

The Successful Match: How to Succeed in Your Residency Interview