Education: a career of teaching in colon and rectal surgery.

The past 25 years have seen a revolution in the way surgery is learned, taught, and practiced. This revolution has increased the need for surgical educators to adapt surgical educational strategies to the modern practice environment. The purposes of this article are (1) to describe the impact of recent and upcoming changes in surgical education, (2) to explore the benefits of participating in surgical education activities both for academic surgeons and for surgeons in private practice, and (3) to review some of the avenues available to surgeons wishing to become involved or build a career in surgical education.