Interest in Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery residency: Can Google Trends be a predictive tool?

Abstract

Google Trends, an online internet search tool, was used to evaluate the association between the U.S. senior applicant pool for Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery (Oto-HNS) residency programs and internet search queries for Oto-HNS residency. Retrospective analysis was performed on the relative search interest for Oto-HNS residencies using Google Trends. Google Trends data was compiled and compared to the National Residency Match Program (NRMP) data. Analysis demonstrated a recent decrease in relative search volume interest in Oto-HNS residencies. The Google Trends analysis mirrored the data from the NRMP which reported a relative decrease in the number of medical school graduate applicants in the field of Oto-HNS. These results suggest that online search tools such as Google Trends may be a useful tool providing insight into the interests of medical school graduates in Oto-HNS residency.