Presenter Status
Resident/Psychology Intern
Abstract Type
QI
Primary Mentor
JIll Edwards
Start Date
10-5-2021 11:30 AM
End Date
10-5-2021 1:30 PM
Presentation Type
Poster Presentation
Description
Problem Statement/Question: Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, resident recruitment will be virtual for the first time. Interviewees will be unable to visit Children’s Mercy for a tour, will spend less time engaging with current residents, and will be unable to visit Kansas City. The Recruitment Committee sought to understand if social media could be utilized to spread awareness of our pediatric residency program and provide insight into the culture of Children’s Mercy and Kansas City.
Background/Project Intent (Aim Statement): Prior to COVID-19, in person interviews would consist of dinner with current residents the day before the interview and a tour of the city. The day of their interview, they had a tour of the hospital, met with GME members and faculty, and spent time with current residents at lunch. Due to COVID-19, the 2020-2021 recruitment season will be virtual. The Recruitment Committee began a social media campaign via Instagram to interact with potential applicants as they were making choices about places to apply to residency. The Recruitment Committee will obtain 400 followers in the first 90 days of the account, will obtain 3% engagement on posts, and will reach potential applicants outside of the Kansas City metro area.
Methods (include PDSA cycles): Instagram was chosen as the social media account as it was visually focused and allowed for a mix of videos and pictures. Various types of posts were planned and scheduled including Professor Rounds every Monday, Tour Tuesday, and Flash Back Friday. A weekly series called Intern Spotlight became one of our most popular posts where a new intern was introduced each week. We utilized the ‘story’ feature of Instagram for resident takeovers, which included following around a resident for the day on their current rotation and answered questions about the program. The success and strategy for posts was addressed weekly with focus on high interaction posts, popular hashtags, and timing of posts for maximum engagement.
Results: The Instagram page went live with its first post on 6/12/2020. The Instagram page was able to surpass our goal of 400 followers in less than 60 days. At the 60-day mark, there were 463 followers, and at the 90 day mark, there were 756 followers. Our followers have plateaued at around 900 followers. The Instagram page had approximately 4-5 new posts per week. Industry standard engagement rate for Instagram is 3.5%, our goal average engagement on posts by 9/29/2020 was 19%, surpassing industry standard. The top locations for followers were Kansas City, Overland Park, and Chicago, successfully engaging followers outside of the Kansas City Metro.
Conclusions: Instagram as a social media tool to reach future applicants to the pediatric residency program at Children’s Mercy was successful. Further questions include applicants' perception of the Instagram page, how viewing the page impacted their residency choices, and if the page assisted in maintaining a wide variety of applicants to the residency program.
Additional Files
Instagram as a Tool to Enhance Virtual Recruitment in the Era of.pdf (148 kB)Abstract
Included in
Higher Education and Teaching Commons, Medical Education Commons, Pediatrics Commons, Science and Mathematics Education Commons
Instagram as a Tool to Enhance Virtual Recruitment in the Era of COVID-19
Problem Statement/Question: Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, resident recruitment will be virtual for the first time. Interviewees will be unable to visit Children’s Mercy for a tour, will spend less time engaging with current residents, and will be unable to visit Kansas City. The Recruitment Committee sought to understand if social media could be utilized to spread awareness of our pediatric residency program and provide insight into the culture of Children’s Mercy and Kansas City.
Background/Project Intent (Aim Statement): Prior to COVID-19, in person interviews would consist of dinner with current residents the day before the interview and a tour of the city. The day of their interview, they had a tour of the hospital, met with GME members and faculty, and spent time with current residents at lunch. Due to COVID-19, the 2020-2021 recruitment season will be virtual. The Recruitment Committee began a social media campaign via Instagram to interact with potential applicants as they were making choices about places to apply to residency. The Recruitment Committee will obtain 400 followers in the first 90 days of the account, will obtain 3% engagement on posts, and will reach potential applicants outside of the Kansas City metro area.
Methods (include PDSA cycles): Instagram was chosen as the social media account as it was visually focused and allowed for a mix of videos and pictures. Various types of posts were planned and scheduled including Professor Rounds every Monday, Tour Tuesday, and Flash Back Friday. A weekly series called Intern Spotlight became one of our most popular posts where a new intern was introduced each week. We utilized the ‘story’ feature of Instagram for resident takeovers, which included following around a resident for the day on their current rotation and answered questions about the program. The success and strategy for posts was addressed weekly with focus on high interaction posts, popular hashtags, and timing of posts for maximum engagement.
Results: The Instagram page went live with its first post on 6/12/2020. The Instagram page was able to surpass our goal of 400 followers in less than 60 days. At the 60-day mark, there were 463 followers, and at the 90 day mark, there were 756 followers. Our followers have plateaued at around 900 followers. The Instagram page had approximately 4-5 new posts per week. Industry standard engagement rate for Instagram is 3.5%, our goal average engagement on posts by 9/29/2020 was 19%, surpassing industry standard. The top locations for followers were Kansas City, Overland Park, and Chicago, successfully engaging followers outside of the Kansas City Metro.
Conclusions: Instagram as a social media tool to reach future applicants to the pediatric residency program at Children’s Mercy was successful. Further questions include applicants' perception of the Instagram page, how viewing the page impacted their residency choices, and if the page assisted in maintaining a wide variety of applicants to the residency program.
