Elsevier

Surgery

Volume 128, Issue 2, August 2000, Pages 253-256
Surgery

Society of University Surgeons
What influences medical students' choice of surgical careers*

Presented at the 61st Annual Meeting of the Society of University Surgeons, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, February 10-12, 2000.
https://doi.org/10.1067/msy.2000.108214Get rights and content

Abstract

Background: Recent emphasis in medical education has been to encourage students to pursue primary care careers. This could have a negative impact on applications to surgical residencies. Methods: To determine what factors are most influential for a student to pursue a surgical career in spite of this environment, third- and fourth-year medical students were surveyed with a 40-item questionnaire. Results: The response rate was 37% (76/205). Those students considering a career in surgery were more likely than their counterparts to be motivated by role models (P <.006), career opportunities (P <.006), and academic opportunities (P <.013) in surgery. They were less likely than their counterparts to be discouraged from surgery on the basis of lifestyle (P <.001), time commitment (P <.001), call schedules (P <.001), or residency length (P <.028). No differences regarding financial rewards, research opportunities, or intellectual challenges were seen between the groups. Neither race nor sex had a significant role in the selection of surgery as a career. Conclusions: The data suggests that students are more likely to be influenced to pursue surgical careers by offering early exposure to positive role models and career and academic opportunities in surgery. Knowledge of these influences on student career choices should help surgical educators attract and maintain student interest in surgical careers. (Surgery 2000;128:253-6)

Section snippets

Methods

In mid-1999, 205 medical students at the beginning of their third and fourth year at Northeastern

. Results of Likert scale questions. 1 , Strongly discouraging; 10 , strongly encouraging; gray bar, interested in surgery; black bar , not interested in surgery.

Ohio Universities College of Medicine, a 6-year combined BS-MD medical school, were surveyed by telephone interview. The survey was conducted by surgical residents and medical students. Surveyors identified themselves as being associated with

Results

Of 205 phone surveys, 76 (37%) were completed and included in the study. At least 3 attempts were made to contact the students at various times during the day. Inability to establish contact was the main hindrance to the method. Six students refused to participate. The third-year medical students accounted for 56.6% (n = 43) and fourth-year students accounted for 43.4% (n = 33) of the sample. The male:female ratio was 42:34. Average age was 23 years.

Results were divided into 2 groups for

Discussion

This study was prompted by the declining match rates in surgical residencies in the past 3 years, reflecting a possible decrease in student interest in surgery.8, 9, 10 Much emphasis has been placed in recent years on how to increase student interest in primary care fields, but little attention has been directed toward the effects this may have on the field of surgery attracting capable residents.

This study attempted to address this issue by surveying third- and fourth-year medical students.

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*

Reprint requests: Jeffrey R. Rubin, MD, Chairman, Department of Surgery, Forum Health, 500 Gypsy Lane, Youngstown, OH 44501.

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