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Do the best students go into general surgery?

Rachael Callcut1, Michael Snow, Barb Lewis

  • 1Department of Surgery, University of Wisconsin Medical School, Madison, Wisconsin, USA.

The Journal of Surgical Research
|October 24, 2003
PubMed
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Medical graduates show declining interest in general surgery (GS). Our study found that students pursuing GS residencies often had lower academic performance compared to those entering surgical subspecialties (SS).

Area of Science:

  • Medical Education
  • Surgical Training
  • Residency Match Trends

Background:

  • A notable decrease in medical graduates' interest in general surgery (GS) has been observed.
  • This trend raises concerns about the academic caliber of physicians entering GS residencies.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate the academic strength of recent medical graduates.
  • To determine the quality of students matching into general surgery (GS) versus surgical subspecialty (SS) residencies.

Main Methods:

  • Followed 291 third-year medical students at the University of Wisconsin Medical School (1998-2000).
  • Assessed student performance using National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME) surgery exam scores, class rank, and Alpha Omega Alpha (AOA) status.
  • Categorized residency choices into general surgery (GS), surgical subspecialty (SS), and nonsurgical (NS).

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Main Results:

  • Students pursuing general surgery (GS) residencies were more likely to score below the national mean on the NBME surgery exam.
  • 46% of students entering GS graduated in the bottom two-thirds of their class.
  • Only 6% of Alpha Omega Alpha (AOA) members chose general surgery (GS) residencies, with most opting for surgical subspecialties (SS).

Conclusions:

  • While top-performing medical students pursue surgical residencies, they predominantly choose surgical subspecialties (SS) over general surgery (GS).
  • This indicates a potential gap in attracting high-achieving graduates to general surgery careers.