Student-Forum Heuristics for Emergency Medicine Residency Program Application-Preliminary Thematic Analysis
Abstract
Learning Objectives: To perform a qualitative analysis of students’ EM program experiences through a publicly available AOC.
Background: Academic Emergency Medicine (EM) communities have viewed anonymous online communities (AOCs) such as Reddit or specialty-specific “applicant spreadsheets” as poor advising sources. Despite this, robust EM AOCs exist, with large user bases and heavy readership. Insights about applicants’ authentic experiences can be critical for applicants and program leadership decision-making. To date, there are no EM studies to qualitatively assess EM AOC narratives during the application cycle.
Objectives: To perform a qualitative analysis of students’ EM program experiences through a publicly available AOC.
Methods: This is a qualitative, single-blinded, retrospective review of a publicly-available, time-stamped, user-locked AOC dataset: “EM Applicant Spreadsheet, 2020-21.” All data were extracted from the Excel sub-sheets entitled ‘Virtual Interview Impressions’ and ‘Rotation Impressions’ and then de-identified. Four investigators independently analyzed the data using an inductive approach and findings were combined to generate common themes discussed by students.
Results: Preliminary thematic analysis was conducted on a random 20% sample (N=37) of 183 independent narratives. Major themes were: Living- and Working-Conditions, Interpersonal Relationships, Learning Experiences, Post Graduate Readiness, and Online/Virtual Supplements (Table 1). Sub-themes included: patient population (13%), resident personality (7%), program leadership personality (7%), relationship with faculty/leadership (6%), geography (4%), practice setting (4%), program reputation (4%), and PGY-3 experiences (4%).
Conclusions: This study could help set a precedent for future program assessments by applicants. It elucidates important themes in their interactions or learning experiences with programs and creates opportunities for learner-centric program improvement.