Disclosures: George Raum, BA: No financial relationships or conflicts of interest

Objective: To present the format and outcomes of a novel virtual residency fair (VRF) conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic and provide survey results from attending applicants and presenting residency programs.

Design: Online surveySetting : N/AParticipants : 2021 Match applicants, representatives from ACGME accredited PM&R residency programs including program directors, program coordinators, faculty and current residents.

Interventions: N/A

Main Outcome Measures: N/A

Results: 78 of the 93 PM&R residency programs (83.9%) in the US participated in the VRF. 56 (71.8%) of programs were recruited via social media. The event averaged 100.2 participants per session. Recordings amassed 15,218 views on YouTube and 5,056 podcasts listens as of 2/1/21. 22/78 programs (28.2%) that presented during the VRF responded to the survey. 86.4% reported an increase in questions from applicants following the event. 90.9% of responders reported that they would like to join in the future. 68.2% of programs increased their residency program’s social media use following the VRF. 81.9% agreed that the VRF should be offered after the pandemic. 62 attendees of the VRF responded to the survey. 33.9% responded that as a result of the VRF, they would apply to more residency programs. 67.7% reported increased confidence in the application cycle as a result of the VRF.Conclusions: The pandemic resulted in immediate changes across the landscape of medical education. While changes strayed far from the norms of tradition, there are aspects that may be of value in the post-pandemic landscape, such as accessible information from residency programs through VRFs, virtual rotations, and social media content that can provide applicants with a behind-the-scenes look at residency programs. Here, a novel structure for a virtual residency fair had a great impact for both presenting institutions and applicants. The structure of the VRF and the results of the survey serve as a useful tool in designing similar events in the future.

Level of Evidence: Level IV

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PM&R Meeting Abstracts - https://pmrjabstracts.org/abstract/the-virtual-residency-fair-vrf-a-novel-tool-for-residency-programs-to-attract-applicants/