Do General Surgery Applicants Really Want to be General Surgeons?

Andriole, Dorothy A.; Jeffe, Donna B.; Klingensmith, Mary E.

doi:10.1016/j.cursur.2005.12.003

Cited by 7 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…For example, the most recent application data show that approximately a quarter of all applicants to surgery positions also apply to other specialties [ 13 ]. Other work has similarly shown that a significant percentage of individuals who match within surgery have indicated that surgery was their “nonpreferred” specialty [ 14 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Measuring the fire in their hearts: assessing passion for the profession among students pursuing surgical careers

Gardner

Willis

2022

Global Surg Educ

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Background Leaders in surgery have posited that passion for the surgery profession is diminishing among entering trainees, and that its scarcity is related to the high levels of attrition observed in general surgery training. This study explores trends in passion for the profession among applicants to general surgery training. Methods Applicants to a large midwestern academic general surgery program were invited to complete a voluntary, anonymous 12-item Passion for Surgery Index (PSI) as part of their supplementary application package during the 2020–2021 and 2021–2022 residency selection seasons. The PSI is adapted from a generic work-related passion index and is based on the dualistic model of passion, organizing scores into harmonious passion and consuming passion. Applicants completed the index on a stand-alone website which automatically generated results pertaining to overall passion, harmonious passion, and consuming passion for the surgery profession. Applicants were provided with their results and provided feedback. Results Sixty-one percent (871/1428) of invited applicants completed the PSI. Approximately 67.4% ( N = 587) of these applicants reported an overall high level of passion for surgery, while 31.1% ( N = 271) reported a moderate level and the remaining 1.5% ( N = 13) reported a low level. When comparing the two different types of passion, the vast majority of applicants (92.8%; N = 808) reported a high level of harmonious passion and only 7.1% ( N = 62) reported a moderate level of harmonious passion. The results for consuming passion were much more varied, with 36.9% ( N = 321) reporting a high level, 47.5% ( N = 414) reporting a moderate level, and 15.6% ( N = 136) reporting a low level of consuming passion for the profession. Discussion These results suggest that there is substantial variation in passion for the profession among those pursuing a career in surgery. While the majority of applicants reported a high level of harmonious passion for surgery, less than half of applicants reported a high level of consuming passion for surgery. This variability in consuming passion among entering trainees is concerning, as individuals with low or only moderate passion for the profession may not have the motivation or drive to persist in demanding training environments.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Measuring the fire in their hearts: assessing passion for the profession among students pursuing surgical careers

Gardner

Willis

2022

Global Surg Educ

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“…Naylor and colleauges 17 suggested that nonacademic factors at the residency matching stage, such as age older than 29 years or a lack of participation in team sports, were more predictive of nonsatisfactory outcomes in general surgery residency than academic factors, such as a lack of superlatives in the dean's letter. Andriole and colleagues 18 provided evidence that in previous matches the applicant pool for general surgery has not, on the whole, been particularly committed to the specialty. Perhaps then the real challenge for surgical specialty programs is to further their understanding of how medical students come to choose which specialties to rank and to investigate novel ways of determining whether or not those medical students really know what they are getting into.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

Adams¹,

Ginther²,

Neuls³

et al. 2017

cjs

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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 ...

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“…Based on National Residency Match Program statistics, a higher number of students end up in general surgery, even if it is their "nonpreferred specialty," a kind way of saying it serves as a safety valve for those who cannot match into a subspecialty. 5 So a student might fall into a general surgery residency with only a vague understanding of where that might lead. Further, those in general surgery need to determine where the field is headed.…”

Section: Making Career Choicesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Making Career Choices

Kavic

2007

Surg Innov

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Do General Surgery Applicants Really Want to be General Surgeons?

Cited by 7 publications

References 11 publications

Measuring the fire in their hearts: assessing passion for the profession among students pursuing surgical careers

Measuring the fire in their hearts: assessing passion for the profession among students pursuing surgical careers

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

Making Career Choices

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