Angelo N Incorvaia1, Chad D Ringley, Dennis A Boysen. 1. Department of Surgery, Synergy Medical Education Alliance, Michigan State University, College of Human Medicine, Saginaw, Michigan, USA. incorvaiaA@aol.com
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this project is to evaluate factors that residents consider when choosing a career in surgery or a surgical subspecialty. Once these factors are identified, surgical residency programs may use the information in their recruiting efforts to attract the most qualified applicants for postgraduate surgical training. DESIGN: A descriptive survey consisting of 20 questions was conducted. Surgical residents were surveyed about student loan debt, career decisions and influencing factors, and demographic data. SETTING: A 2-page, Institutional Review Board-approved, survey was mailed to program directors of 40 general surgery residency programs. Included in the packet were copies of the survey, a letter to the program director, and a self-addressed prestamped envelope for return of the completed survey. The program directors were asked to have their residents complete the survey during a normally scheduled meeting and to collect and return the surveys. PARTICIPANTS: General surgery residents in residency programs randomly chosen throughout the country were surveyed. These residents included all postgraduate levels of training. RESULTS: Among 6 choices for entering a surgical residency, a strong desire to become a surgeon was the response chosen most often by residents. Over 50% of those surveyed indicated that they planned to pursue subspecialty training. Family ties was the most quoted influencing factor for choosing a geographical location for practice. Amount of student loan debt correlated with the perception of medical school being a financially wise decision, yet had little influence on the decision to subspecialize. CONCLUSIONS: A strong desire and passion for surgery was the predominant reason for choosing a career in surgery in this survey. Only 15% of general surgery residents surveyed intend to join the workforce as general surgeons. With the rising average age of the general population, this implies a significant shortage of general surgeons in the near future.
OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this project is to evaluate factors that residents consider when choosing a career in surgery or a surgical subspecialty. Once these factors are identified, surgical residency programs may use the information in their recruiting efforts to attract the most qualified applicants for postgraduate surgical training. DESIGN: A descriptive survey consisting of 20 questions was conducted. Surgical residents were surveyed about student loan debt, career decisions and influencing factors, and demographic data. SETTING: A 2-page, Institutional Review Board-approved, survey was mailed to program directors of 40 general surgery residency programs. Included in the packet were copies of the survey, a letter to the program director, and a self-addressed prestamped envelope for return of the completed survey. The program directors were asked to have their residents complete the survey during a normally scheduled meeting and to collect and return the surveys. PARTICIPANTS: General surgery residents in residency programs randomly chosen throughout the country were surveyed. These residents included all postgraduate levels of training. RESULTS: Among 6 choices for entering a surgical residency, a strong desire to become a surgeon was the response chosen most often by residents. Over 50% of those surveyed indicated that they planned to pursue subspecialty training. Family ties was the most quoted influencing factor for choosing a geographical location for practice. Amount of student loan debt correlated with the perception of medical school being a financially wise decision, yet had little influence on the decision to subspecialize. CONCLUSIONS: A strong desire and passion for surgery was the predominant reason for choosing a career in surgery in this survey. Only 15% of general surgery residents surveyed intend to join the workforce as general surgeons. With the rising average age of the general population, this implies a significant shortage of general surgeons in the near future.
Authors: Eliane Holzer; Franziska Tschan; Maria U Kottwitz; Guido Beldi; Adrian P Businger; Norbert K Semmer Journal: BMC Surg Date: 2019-08-14 Impact factor: 2.102