TY - JOUR
T1 - Using Quality Improvement Principles to Redesign a Cardiothoracic Surgery Fellowship Program Website
AU - Rajaram, Ravi
AU - Abreu, Juan A.
AU - Mehran, Reza
AU - Nguyen, Tom C.
AU - Antonoff, Mara B.
AU - Vaporciyan, Ara
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 The Society of Thoracic Surgeons
PY - 2021/3
Y1 - 2021/3
N2 - Background: Websites are primary sources of information for prospective trainees. However, little is known regarding the information deemed most important to cardiothoracic (CT) surgery interviewees when evaluating a program. The objectives of this study were to (1) report informational content important to CT surgery interviewees on a fellowship website and (2) improve the quality of a specific program's website. Methods: Study investigators conducted a survey of interviewees at a traditional 2-year CT surgery fellowship program. Questions were asked to elicit what information interviewees considered important to include in a program website and to identify gaps in the website's content. After administering the survey to 2018 fellowship interviewees, the website was redesigned, and the survey was readministered to 2019 fellowship interviewees. Results: A total of 49 interviewees completed the survey (response rate, 90.7%); 45 (91.8%) of these interviewees had previously visited the program's website. Interviewees reported that the most important information they sought when accessing fellowship websites included faculty profiles (n = 47), rotation schedules (n = 33), current fellows’ profiles (n = 29), and past fellows’ profiles (n = 26). The website was revamped to include content across each of these domains. After website redesign, there was significant improvement in interviewees reporting that they found the information they sought (mean score, 3.56 to 4.64; P < .001) and that the website was useful (mean score, 3.67 to 4.77; P < .001) compared with the previous year. Conclusions: CT surgery fellowship websites are accessed by the majority of interviewees and are a critical source of program information. Optimizing website design and content on the basis of survey feedback objectively improved the usefulness of the program website to interviewees.
AB - Background: Websites are primary sources of information for prospective trainees. However, little is known regarding the information deemed most important to cardiothoracic (CT) surgery interviewees when evaluating a program. The objectives of this study were to (1) report informational content important to CT surgery interviewees on a fellowship website and (2) improve the quality of a specific program's website. Methods: Study investigators conducted a survey of interviewees at a traditional 2-year CT surgery fellowship program. Questions were asked to elicit what information interviewees considered important to include in a program website and to identify gaps in the website's content. After administering the survey to 2018 fellowship interviewees, the website was redesigned, and the survey was readministered to 2019 fellowship interviewees. Results: A total of 49 interviewees completed the survey (response rate, 90.7%); 45 (91.8%) of these interviewees had previously visited the program's website. Interviewees reported that the most important information they sought when accessing fellowship websites included faculty profiles (n = 47), rotation schedules (n = 33), current fellows’ profiles (n = 29), and past fellows’ profiles (n = 26). The website was revamped to include content across each of these domains. After website redesign, there was significant improvement in interviewees reporting that they found the information they sought (mean score, 3.56 to 4.64; P < .001) and that the website was useful (mean score, 3.67 to 4.77; P < .001) compared with the previous year. Conclusions: CT surgery fellowship websites are accessed by the majority of interviewees and are a critical source of program information. Optimizing website design and content on the basis of survey feedback objectively improved the usefulness of the program website to interviewees.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85092181621&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85092181621&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.athoracsur.2020.05.158
DO - 10.1016/j.athoracsur.2020.05.158
M3 - Article
C2 - 32745517
AN - SCOPUS:85092181621
SN - 0003-4975
VL - 111
SP - 1079
EP - 1085
JO - Annals of Thoracic Surgery
JF - Annals of Thoracic Surgery
IS - 3
ER -