A better lifestyle during surgical clerkship may not increase application rates to general surgery

Lifestyle has been identified by numerous studies as the number one deterrent to pursuing a career in general surgery. This study tests the hypothesis that a better lifestyle during general surgery clerkship correlates with a higher application rate to general surgery.

Canadian Residency Matching Service data from the past 10 years were used to identify institution-specific application rates to general surgery. Through a survey of all fourth-year medical students applying to general surgery in Canada and Canadian undergraduate surgery program directors, the lifestyle of each general surgery clerkship was described and given a score.

Multiple descriptions of the clerkship structure were obtained for every school in Canada to reduce recall bias, with an average of 4 sources per program. One school stood out as the most prolific producer of general surgery applicants, with an average of 7.9% of the total class applying to general surgery each year. This represented 80% more general surgery applicants relative to the national average (p < 0.05). Surprisingly, however, this institution also had the worst clerkship lifestyle score, having a higher call requirement, not sending their clerks home at noon post call, and placing a higher burden of responsibility on their clerks.

This study suggests that a lifestyle-friendly surgical clerkship may not be necessary to increase recruitment into general surgery.