Accessibility and Content of Abdominal Transplant Fellowship Program Websites in the United States

Abstract

ObjectivesOrgan transplant volume is at an all-time high. Prospective applicants often utilize individual programs' websites for information when deciding if and where to apply for fellowship training. Accessibility and content from one program's website to the next is highly variable and may contribute to the selection of programs. The aim of this study was to evaluate the accessibility and content of abdominal transplant surgery fellowship websites. Materials and methodsThe American Society of Transplant Surgeons (ASTS) website provides a complete list of abdominal transplant fellowship programs in the United States. A Google search was performed to determine the presence and accessibility of a program's website. Available websites were evaluated on the presence of 20 content criteria. ResultsSixty-five programs in the United States were identified using the ASTS directory. Websites for fifty-one (78%) fellowship programs were identified. Three-fourths of websites contained 50% or less of the 20 evaluated data points, whereas 24% of websites contained 5 or less criteria. The most and least included data points were program description (100%) and on-call expectations (10%), respectively. ConclusionsThe accessibility and content of a program's website is one major factor that can influence a potential applicant's decision on where to pursue transplant surgery fellowship training. This study revealed that a significant percentage of programs fail to provide a functional website. Of the fifty-one programs that did have websites, information deemed important to prospective applicants may be considered inadequate.