Brand Videos among Orthopedic Surgery Residency Programs

Objectives: The use of brand videos has provided residency programs with another platform to showcase themselves and attract potential applicants. Despite the rise in brand videos following the COVID-19 pandemic, not all orthopedic surgery residency programs have developed one. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of brand videos on orthopedic surgery residency program websites and evaluate their contents.

Methods: This was a cross-sectional analysis of all orthopedic surgery residencies participating in the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP) in November 2022. The presence of a brand video was reviewed on each program's website and data was collected from the contents of existing videos.

Results: Forty-seven percent (90/192) of programs had a brand video with an average length of 6 minutes and 13 seconds. The top two program qualities highlighted were a family friendly atmosphere with camaraderie (83%; 75/90) and early hands-on surgical experience (72%; 65/90). Despite brand videos being tailored to an audience of prospective residents, only 9% (8/90) of programs noted qualities they look for in prospective residents. Furthermore, only 19% (17/90) of programs displayed a closing slide containing contact information or links to social media accounts.

Conclusion: Only 47% of orthopedic surgery residency programs have established a brand video. The absence of a brand video may be due to programs not perceiving them as important, shortage of resources, or unfamiliarity with video marketing. Based on our findings, we propose recommendations to assist programs in their development of a brand video.