MatchToPath.com: A Free Online Informative Platform to Help Applicants Navigate Pathology Residency Application Process

Abstract

Abstract Introduction/Objective Information on how to apply to pathology residency in the US has traditionally been spread by word of mouth, with applicants relying on faculty contacts or their colleagues who have previously matched into the specialty for advice. However, not all pathology applicants have access to these resources, particularly international medical graduates or osteopathic medical students that may not have a pathology department at their home institution. We created MatchToPath.com as a free, online platform featuring informative webinars, blog posts, and podcasts on how to successfully apply to pathology residency in the US. Methods/Case Report Website (www.matchtopath.com) traffic from January 1, 2022 to December 31, 2022 was monitored using SquareSpace (New York, NY) analytics. Six live webinars were conducted from the period of February 1, 2022 to May 1, 2023, with registrant and attendee data collected from Zoom account reports. The average number of registrants, attendees, and the attendees/registrant ratio was calculated. Results (if a Case Study enter NA) During this time frame, the website received 1,889 total visits, with 45% representing direct navigations to the site and 34%, 7%, and 7% representing links to the site from Twitter, Facebook, and Google, respectively (Figure 1). The site was viewed internationally, with the highest traffic originating from the US (1,398 visits; 73.3%), Nepal (94; 4.93%), and Turkey (49; 2.57%) (Figure 2). The “Blog Entries, Surveys, and More” page had the most (52%) views, followed by the homepage (24%) and the webinars page (17%). The six live webinars had average registrant rate of 88.3% (range: 54-120). Average attendees who attended our live webinar series is 58.6% (range 37-76). The average ratio of attendees/registrants is 58.6 (range: 59.1-112.9). The recorded webinars released on the website demonstrated 43-147 views (as of May 8, 2023). Conclusion MatchToPath.com is a novel online platform with a global presence that provides pathology residency applicants with a database of informative advice in the pathology Match process.