Abstract
Background: Website content and accessibility has the potential to influence the applicant’s decision whether to interview for the program or not. The objective of our study is to determine the content and accessibility of the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) Directory and accredited geriatric (family medicine) fellowship program websites.Methods: A list of geriatric (family medicine) fellowship programs was retrieved using the AAFP Directory and verified for accreditation. Contact information was compared between the directory and the fellowship websites. The programs’ website links from the directory were evaluated and compared with Google search. The websites’ accessibility and content were assessed for program, education, and application overview.Results: Fifty programs were identified, but 43 programs were chosen for analysis. There was an incongruence of over 50% of contact information between the AAFP Directory and the website page. Regarding content, most websites were lacking in fellows’ profile information, previous research studies, and application ID.Conclusion: AAFP Directory and fellowship websites can improve geriatric (family medicine) fellowship recruitment by updating their information and providing more accessible and accurate content.
Highlights
About one in five family medicine graduates pursue an additional fellowship, with a significant amount of graduates deciding to pursue geriatrics medicine [1]
A total number of 50 programs were identified as geriatric fellowship programs in the Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) Directory
There was an incongruence of 19 names of program directors (52.8%), 16 phone numbers (55.2%), 22 emails (71.0%), and seven addresses (29.2%) between the AAFP directory and the fellowship website page
Summary
About one in five family medicine graduates pursue an additional fellowship, with a significant amount of graduates deciding to pursue geriatrics medicine [1]. Accessibility of fellowship program information is a vital factor for allowing applicants to decide which fellowship program they want to pursue. Most applicants rely extensively on online resources, including online fellowship resources and Google search, to learn more information before applying [2,3]. The American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) provides a Fellowship Directory that is an online resource for searching family medicine fellowship content. The objective of our study is to assess the content and accessibility of the AAFP Fellowship Directory and its listed websites in the database. Website content and accessibility has the potential to influence the applicant’s decision whether to interview for the program or not. The objective of our study is to determine the content and accessibility of the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) Directory and accredited geriatric (family medicine) fellowship program websites
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
