Novel Use of Text-Bot Automation for Residency Recruitment

Purpose. To describe the employment of an automated text messaging text-bot during the 2019 American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) Midyear Clinical Meeting Residency Showcase and its impact on the number of applications received for the postgraduate year 1 (PGY1) and postgraduate year 2 (PGY2) pharmacy residency programs at a medium-sized community hospital. Methods. Visitors at the residency showcase booth were asked to text a code word to a program number. The text-bot collected the visitor’s contact information and program of interest (PGY1 or PGY2). A series of automated messages were sent to all visitors following the showcase and up until the residency application deadline. Results. 71% (20/28) of visitors to the program’s showcase booth registered with the text-bot and of these, 65% (13/20) submitted applications to the residency program in phase I of the match. Both the PGY1 and PGY2 programs saw an increase in the amount of applications received compared to previous year. Conclusion. A text messaging text-bot may be a useful residency recruitment tool.

The impact of global health opportunities on residency selection

Background An increasing number of medical trainees across specialties desire and expect Global Health (GH) experiences during training. It is useful for residency programs to know the impact that offering GH opportunities has on resident recruitment. The study objectives were to explore the importance of GH opportunities in residency selection among fourth-year medical students, examine the relationship between interest in GH and career plans, and describe students’ perspectives on prior GH experiences. Methods The authors administered an electronic survey to all fourth-year medical students attending 12 different US institutions in February 2020. Data from the ten schools who were able to comply with the survey distribution methodology and with response rates above 25% were analyzed using descriptive statistics and Pearson’s correlation. Results A total of 707 fourth-year medical students from the included schools completed the survey out of 1554 possible students (46% response rate). One third of respondents ranked the presence of GH experiences in residency as moderately or very important and 26% felt that the presence of a formal GH curriculum was at least moderately important, with variation noted among specialties. After training, 65% of students envision practicing internationally in some capacity. A desire to care for underserved patients in their careers was significantly correlated with an interest in GH experiences during residency. Conclusions The opportunity to be involved in GH experiences during training can be an important factor for many medical students when considering residency choice, and the availability of these opportunities may be a valuable recruitment tool. Students valuing GH opportunities during residency are more interested in working with underserved populations in their future careers.

Research shows role of pre-hire and post-hire outcomes in effectiveness of social media recruitment

Purpose The authors were motivated to carry out their study by the increasing popularity of social media as a recruitment tool. They focused on the recruitment managers as previous studies have concentrated on the experiences of the candidates. Design/methodology/approach The authors wanted to test two hypotheses. The first one was split into two parts – Hypothesis 1A was that: “Recruiters intentions to adopt SMR are significantly related to pre-hire ROs.” And Hypothesis 1B was that: “Recruiters intentions to adopt SMR are significantly related to post-hire ROs.” Their second hypothesis was that: “CS (credibility and satisfaction) will mediate the relationship between SMR intention and ROs”. They surveyed 240 recruitment managers in the manufacturing and services sector, in Gujarat, India. Findings The results confirmed both of the hypotheses. Firstly, the responses showed that recruiters intended to use social media as it provides pre-hire benefits. Similarly, results showed SMR is more compatible, less complex and ensures better trialability and observability. Secondly, the research showed SMR intentions are significantly related to post-hire ROs. The study proved that SMR was “cost-effective, attracts better talents and retains them”. Originality/value The study suggested social media sites like Facebook could maximize the number of applicants and be more effective than traditional advertising in targeting passive job seekers. Second, it showed managers could optimize their SM post-hire outcomes to improve talent retention. Third, the results suggested that SMR could attract dream candidates by providing credible information. Finally, HR departments needed to understand social media complements rather than replaces traditional recruitment methods.

STEM Degrees and Military Service: An Intersectional Analysis

Given that the U.S. military uses science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) exposure as a key recruitment tool, one should expect that military service is associated with STEM outcomes. While research demonstrates this pattern for women veterans, we know little about racialized and intersectional patterns. This article uses the American Community Survey data (2014–2018) to examine the association between military service, race/ethnicity, and gender to STEM degrees earned. We find that military service operates contingently: White men’s plus white, Hispanic, and multiracial/other women’s predicted probability of earning a STEM degree increases with military service. In contrast, for other minority groups, military service is not associated with a higher predicted probability of earning a STEM degree. Indeed, for groups typically overrepresented in STEM fields (i.e., Asian veterans), a negative association exists. These findings inform extant research on the long-term impact of military service on civilian reintegration, including educational and occupational outcomes.

Social Media as a Recruitment Tool by Extremist Groups

On November 25, 2020, Professor Mubin Shaikh presented Social Media as a Recruitment Tool by Extremist Groups at the 2020 CASIS West Coast Security Conference. The presentation was followed by a question and answer period with other speakers. The key points of discussion focused on how the rise of social media has created recruitment opportunities for extremist groups, and how these opportunities have compounded during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Concept and development of an interactive tool for trial recruitment planning and management

Background Predicting and monitoring recruitment in large, complex trials is essential to ensure appropriate resource management and budgeting. In a novel partnership between clinical trial investigators of the South African Medical Research Council and industrial engineers from the Stellenbosch University Health Systems Engineering and Innovation Hub, we developed a trial recruitment tool (TRT). The objective of the tool is to serve as a computerised decisions-support system to aid the planning and management phases of the trial recruitment process. Method The specific requirements of the TRT were determined in several workshops between the partners. A Poisson process simulation model was formulated and incorporated in the TRT to predict the recruitment duration. The assumptions underlying the model were made in consultation with the trial team at the start of the project and were deemed reasonable. Real-world data extracted from a current cluster trial, Project MIND, based in 24 sites in South Africa was used to verify the simulation model and to develop the monitoring component of the TRT. Results The TRT comprises a planning and monitoring component. The planning component generates different trial scenarios for predicted trial recruitment duration based on user inputs, e.g. number of sites, initiation delays. The monitoring component uses and analyses the data retrieved from the trial management information system to generate different levels of information, displayed visually on an interactive, user-friendly dashboard. Users can analyse the results at trial or site level, changing input parameters to see the resultant effect on the duration of trial recruitment. Conclusion This TRT is an easy-to-use tool that assists in the management of the trial recruitment process. The TRT has potential to expedite improved management of clinical trials by providing the appropriate information needed for the planning and monitoring of the trial recruitment phase. This TRT extends prior tools describing historic recruitment only to using historic data to predict future recruitment. The broader project demonstrates the value of collaboration between clinicians and engineers to optimise their respective skillsets.

A pilot study into ecological burning in forests as part of a species conservation plan

Pearson MW. 2021. A pilot study into ecological burning in forests as part of a species conservation plan. Biodiversitas 22: 1296-1303. Fire management and the process of managing communities has become an increasingly topical subject due to recent events. The role of fire for fuel reduction with areas set aside for conservation may not be compatible as a seed recruitment tool for Allocasuarina robusta. Presently, fire as a recruitment tool on A. robusta is not well understood. The pilot study aims to examine the latent seedbank ability to contribute to the conservation of A. robusta when ecological burning is part of a fire management plan. The investigation examined the soil seed bank beneath A. robusta before and after an ecological burn as a greenhouse experiment. The experiment results demonstrated that a diverse range of species responds to a fire that may out-compete the seed recruitment from A. robusta. The results indicate that A. robusta may not be recruiting through seed. Competition appears to be a factor that may limit the ability of A. robusta to recruit from seed.