38. Social Media Usage by Plastic Surgery Fellowship Programs: Are There Gaps in Opportunities for Engagement?

Abstract

Background: Social media utilization in plastic surgery training has been growing exponentially since 2010. The importance of social media for integrated plastic surgery residency programs has already been well-demonstrated in the literature, with previous studies identifying correlation between number of social media followers and program reputation on Doximity. While these findings could possibly generalize to fellowship programs, there has not been a comprehensive analysis in this space to date. Therefore, the aim of this study was to characterize major plastic surgery fellowship programs’ social media usage, in order to identify potential opportunities within the space to generate engagement. Methods: United States plastic surgery fellowship programs in four major sub-specialties (Hand, Microsurgery, Craniomaxillofacial, and Aesthetic) were identified via the public database plasticsurgeryfellowship.org. Fellowship program names and their respective conjugates were independently queried in August 2022 on three separate platforms (Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter) to evaluate for social media presence. Platform-specific parameters were collected on an account-by-account basis and statistically analyzed in aggregate. Results: 20.7% of US Hand fellowship programs had Instagram accounts, versus 6.7%, 4.2%, and 0% for Aesthetic, CMF, and Microsurgery programs respectively. Hand was the only fellowship to have a social media presence on Twitter, whereas Microsurgery and Aesthetic were the only fellowships to have social media presences on Facebook. The first fellowship Instagram account was created in May 2017, with the majority of accounts (14/23) being created between 2020 and 2021. Geographically, 30.4% of United States fellowship Instagram accounts were from programs located in the South, 30.4% from programs in the West coast, 26.1% in the Midwest, and 13.0% in the Northeast. Conclusion: Social media is underutilized by plastic surgery fellowship programs and therefore is a space with significant potential for growth. In particular, Instagram represents the platform with the most activity and promise, with median followers for fellowship programs in the hundreds or thousands. The absence of microsurgery fellowship Instagram accounts despite the large number of microsurgery fellowship programs in the US is a notable discrepancy. Such discrepancies represent significant opportunities for fellowship programs to increase visibility and engagement.