The Abdominal Transplant Surgery Workforce: Current state and future trends

Abstract

Transplant surgical workforce concerns have arisen in the last 5 years as reflected in challenges securing job opportunities for new fellows. The present survey was designed by the ASTS Membership and Workforce Committee to describe the current practice characteristics of transplant centers in order to estimate changes in the workforce. The survey questionnaire requested information about the transplant programs, the transplant surgeons involved in the program, and the estimated changes in the staffing of the program over the next 3 years. Seventy-one transplant centers responded from a total of 235 identified and queried (30.2% response rate), with median responding centers per UNOS region of 7 (IQR 4.5-8.5). The recruitment outlook for the next 3 years forecasts a positive inflow of surgeons at a 2:1 rate (incoming:leaving). The new female transplant workforce within the responding cohort has increased from 3.7% in 1980 to 18.4% in 2010. Currently, 13.1% of practicing US transplant surgeons in this survey are female which is higher than many other surgical specialties. This report represents the most up-to-date view into the abdominal transplant surgical workforce. The positive job recruitment outlook for transplant surgeons and the narrowing gender gap are new findings from this study.

Kidney transplant surgical director training: Urologists represent a functional alternative to general surgeons

“…This was despite an increase in new female transplant surgeons from 3.7% in 1980 to 18.4% in 2010. 9 Our analysis demonstrated that women were equally as likely to be under-represented regardless of training as general surgeons or urologists. There was no significant difference in SRTR ranking of both 1year survival and DD wait-time between female and male led programs (Table 5).…”

“…to 2019 survey of the abdominal transplant surgery workforce, 201 (96.6%) of the 208 practicing transplant surgeons who com-pleted residency training in the United States or Canada were general surgeons and seven (3.4%) were urologists 9. Although limited by a low response rate, this survey is the most updated estimate of the transplant surgery workforce.…”

The Academic Footprint of Women in Transplantation: Leaky Pipeline Persists

“…Estimates of female transplant surgeons are based on surveys with limited response, while similar data are unavailable for medical transplant specialties. 9 Number of total female authors (33.2%), first author (34.4%), speakers (33%), and panelists (27%) far exceed the proportion of practicing surgeons. These numbers are undoubtedly influenced by other specialties but are the first benchmarks for the female footprint in transplantation.…”

Organ utilization – the next hurdle in transplantation?

“…The physical and mental demands of being a transplant surgeon are a challenge that is likely to increase in the coming years [60–62]. As organ donation rates rise in many countries, transplant numbers are likely to increase.…”