Cross-Sectional Analysis of Canadian Anesthesiology Residency Program Website Content

Background Residency program websites are an important resource widely used by prospective applicants when applying to programs. The objectives of our study were to evaluate the program content available on Canadian anesthesiology residency program websites using established criteria and identify any areas for improvement. Methods In this cross-sectional study, we evaluated the content available on accredited anesthesiology residency training program websites, between July and August 2021, using 54 criteria provided in the following domains: recruitment; faculty; residents; education and research; clinical work; incentives; wellness; and environment. Website scores were analyzed using descriptive statistics and presented as median (interquartile range), percentage (%), and range. Results We identified 17 programs with publicly available functional websites. Overall, residency programs met a median of 28 (interquartile range: 18-36) website criteria out of 54 (51.9%). Education and research was the highest-scoring domain among residency programs (median 77.8% of criteria met), while resident information and incentives were the lowest (14.3%). Conclusion Canadian anesthesiology residency program websites include information on many domains relevant to prospective applicants, including education and research. However, most websites require improvement and content updates for faculty information, resident information, incentives, wellness, and environment.