Abstract
Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has led to increased barriers for medical students seeking to engage with plastic surgery. Traditional approaches such as pursuing clinical electives broadly are no longer feasible and medical students are seeking innovative approaches for engagement. The current study evaluated the efficacy of online information sessions on medical student perception and proposed a timeline for longitudinal medical student recruitment. Methods: The McGill Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery residency program held an online information session for medical students focusing on a wide array of topics related to plastic surgery and residency. Following the session, an anonymous survey was sent to participants gauging their satisfaction with the event and potential effects it had on career planning. Results: Thirty-four participants completed the survey, comprising more than 60% of annual applicants to Canadian plastic surgery programs. 94% of participants stated that their view of McGill's training program improved and reported a desire for additional sessions from other training programs. 68% of respondents reported being more likely to consider training at McGill and 100% agreed that such sessions could influence their decision to pursue a given training program. Social media was the most common resource used by participants to gain information on training programs. Conclusion: Online information sessions are valuable tools for medical student recruitment and can directly influence their views of a specific training program and affect career planning. Investing in generating high quality content through online forms of communication is paramount as most medical students are turning to these platforms amidst the pandemic.
Highlights
The COVID-19 pandemic has had significant impacts on medical student education and career planning due to reduced clinical exposure.[1,2] The public health initiatives put into place have prevented medical students from pursuing clinical electives outside of their respective institutions which has limited their ability to explore training programs
The overarching goal of the current study aims to evaluate the utility of online information sessions and the effects they may have on career planning for senior level medical students
Our data was consistent with the effects it can have on the perception of a specific training program, the majority of respondents in the current study were already decided on plastic surgery and were in their final year of medical school.[9]
Summary
The COVID-19 pandemic has had significant impacts on medical student education and career planning due to reduced clinical exposure.[1,2] The public health initiatives put into place have prevented medical students from pursuing clinical electives outside of their respective institutions which has limited their ability to explore training programs. Medical students are likely seeking innovative ways to engage with plastic surgery amidst the pandemic, training programs will play a critical role in targeting prospective students. The COVID-19 pandemic has led to increased barriers for medical students seeking to engage with plastic surgery. Traditional approaches such as pursuing clinical electives broadly are no longer feasible and medical students are seeking innovative approaches for engagement. Conclusion: Online information sessions are valuable tools for medical student recruitment and can directly influence their views of a specific training program and affect career planning. Investing in generating high quality content through online forms of communication is paramount as most medical students are turning to these platforms amidst the pandemic
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