Attitudes and factors contributing to attrition in Canadian surgical specialty residency programs

Abstract

Background:We recently studied attrition in Canadian general surgical programs; however, there are no data on whether residents enrolled in other surgical residencies harbour the same intents as their general surgical peers. We sought to determine how many residents in surgical disciplines in Canada consider leaving their programs and why.Methods: An anonymous survey was administered to all residents in 9 surgical disciplines in Canada. Significance of association was determined using the Pearson χ 2 test. The Canadian Post-MD Education Registry (CAPER) website was used to calculate the response rate. Results:We received 523 responses (27.6% response rate). Of these respondents, 140 (26.8%) were either "somewhat" or "seriously" considering leaving their program. Residents wanting to pursue additional fellowship training and those aspiring to an academic career were significantly less likely to be considering changing specialties (p = 0.003 and p = 0.005, respectively). Poor work-life balance and fear of unemployment/ underemployment were the top reasons why residents would change specialty (55.5% and 40.8%, respectively), although the reasons cited were not significantly different between those considering changing and those who were not (p = 0.64). Residents who were considering changing programs were significantly less likely to enjoy their work and more likely to cite having already invested too much time to change as a reason for continuing (p < 0.001). Conclusion:More than one-quarter of residents in surgical training programs in Canada harbour desires to abandon their surgical careers, primarily because of unsatisfactory work-life balance and limited employment prospects. Efforts to educate prospective residents about the reality of the surgical lifestyle and to optimize employment prospects may improve completion rates.Contexte : Nous avons récemment étudié les taux d'attrition dans les programmes de chirurgie générale canadiens; toutefois, on ne dispose pas de données pour déterminer si les résidents inscrits dans d'autres programmes de chirurgie ont les mêmes intentions que leurs collègues de chirurgie générale. Nous avons voulu savoir combien de résidents des disciplines chirurgicales au Canada envisagent de quitter leur programme et pourquoi.Méthodes : Tous les résidents de 9 disciplines chirurgicales au Canada ont passé un sondage anonyme. La portée de la corrélation a été déterminée à l'aide du test χ 2 de Pearson. Le site Web du Répertoire canadien sur l'éducation post-MD (RCEP) a été utilisé pour calculer le taux de réponse.Résultats : Nous avons reçu 523 réponses (taux de réponse de 27,6 %). Parmi les répon-dants, 140 (26,8 %) envisageaient « peut-être » ou « sérieusement » de quitter leur programme. Les résidents qui souhaitaient suivre une formation de surspécialité et ceux qui aspiraient à une carrière universitaire étaient notablement moins susceptibles d'envisager un changement de programme (p = 0,003 et p = 0,005, respectivement). Les problèmes de conciliation travail-famille et la crainte ...

Radiation Oncology Resident and Program Director Perceptions of the Job Market and Impact on Well-being

“…For example, a pattern of undertaking fellowships to improve employability has been reported by Canadian ophthalmology and orthopedic trainees [17,20]. Also, there was a decline in cardiothoracic trainees recommending the training program to prospective medical students; additionally, over one-quarter of Canadian surgical trainees considered leaving their specialty, partly due to concerns regarding unemployment or underemployment [19,21].…”

A survey on the cost of oral surgery dental speciality training

“…5 Low morale, burn-out and poor job satisfaction have been reported amongst surgical trainees, leading some to consider abandoning their careers. 6 Most importantly patient outcomes have been linked with doctors' welfare at work, thus highlighting the importance of addressing these issues. 7 Much of the literature has focused on medical specialty training 1,2,8,9,10 , but here we will consider the cost of training in a single dental speciality, oral surgery, which is a recognised EU specialty.…”

Evaluation of the influence of student-led surgery interest groups: a pan-Canadian survey

“…[1][2][3] These studies unanimously discuss the importance of early surgical exposure to improve continuity in both entrance and completion rates of surgical disciplines. Adams and colleagues 3 resonate this notion: "efforts to educate prospective residents about the reality of the surgical lifestyle and to optimize employment prospects may improve [residency] completion rates.…”