AUGS Fellowship Showcase: Utilizing Social Media to Engage URPS Applicants

Objectives: Urogynecology and Reconstructive Surgery (URPS) applicants’ support, preparation, and success with the fellowship application are varied. Fellowship applications are submitted mid-PGY3 and Match in early PGY4. In the era of virtual interviews, applicants desire a more unfiltered or authentic look at a program to be able to assess intangible qualities such as “fit”. We sought to create an “AUGS Fellowship Showcase'' and recruited URPS Fellowship programs to participate in a week-long event on social media (SoMe). This study aims to implement and assess engagement with the AUGS Fellowship Showcase on SoMe, specifically Instagram

Methods: The AUGS SoMe Committee presented the Fellowship Showcase and AUGS SoMe Toolkit to the Fellowship Committee at the AUGS 2023 Meeting. The AUGS Instagram account publicized the showcase (November 13-17th 2023). The American Medical Association Fellowship and Residency Electronic Interactive Database (FREIDA) was queried for all “Female Pelvic Medicine and Reconstructive Surgery (OBG)” programs, resulting in 59 programs. One author systematically searched Instagram via the search feature for program profiles using the program name with the following algorithm: “Program Name + urogynecology”, “Program Name + URPS”, “Program Name + Fellowship”, “Program Name + FPMRS”. Data was collected pre- and post-AUGS Fellowship Showcase. Programs self-reported as university-based, community-based, or community-based university-affiliated in FREIDA. Participation in the AUGS Fellowship Showcase measured by posting during the allotted time period, number of followers, and engagement with AUGS was recorded. Specific posts related to the AUGS Fellowship Showcase via the @urogynsociety Instagram account were analyzed for Impressions and Accounts Engaged. Hashtags utilized during the event; #AUGSFellowshipShowcase, #FutureFellowsofAUGS, and #FutureUrogynFellows were also examined.

Results: There were 12 Instagram accounts associated with URPS Fellowship Programs compared to 28 by February 2024, with the majority (n=14) created just prior to the Showcase. A majority of programs with accounts were in the Midwest (21.4%), Northeast (35.7%), and Southeast (21.4%) and were University-based (75%) (Table 1). The average number of followers was 144 (103-258) and a majority of programs with Instagram accounts participated in the showcase (n = 27, 96.4%) (Table 1). The Fellowship Showcase Schedule post received 972 Impressions with 51 unique accounts engaging with the post (Figure 1). The hashtags utilized were used in an average of 172 posts by participating programs.

Conclusions: With the shift to virtual interviews, SoMe is an effective tool to allow programs to engage applicants. The AUGS Fellowship Showcase 2023 successfully increased the number of programs with social media accounts and engaged a majority (96.4%) of these URPS Fellowship Programs. By coordinating this showcase through the national society, AUGS is the first subspecialty organization in OB/GYN to coordinate a national, social media-based, fellowship recruitment and engagement opportunity.