Attitudes of medical students toward careers in general surgery

Changes to general surgical undergraduate curricula, alongside changes in work force and postgraduate training, may be associated with a decline in interest in surgical careers. This study examines the attitudes of students toward surgical training and their career intentions.

A prospective, questionnaire-based survey was submitted to final year students at the end of their general surgery attachment over a single academic year at a UK medical school. Career ambitions and reasoning were assessed.

Of 223 eligible students, 193 (87%) completed the questionnaire. There were 118 (61%) females and 75 (39%) males with a median (range) age of 23 (21-41) years. Ninety-eight (51%) respondents undertook their placement at a Teaching Hospital, whereas 93 (41%) were attached to a District General Hospital. One-hundred forty-three (74%) students felt that a four-week attachment had given them a satisfactory exposure to General Surgery, and 36 (19%) disagreed. Sixty-eight (53%) students were unable to select a single specialty that they would most like to pursue as a future career. Of the remainder, 23 (12%) chose general surgery, 24 (12%) chose general medicine, and 22 (11%) chose general practice. Seventy-eight (40%) students would consider a career in general surgery, and 75 (39%) would not; 40 (29%) were undecided. The two most popular attractions to general surgery were challenging postgraduate training and highly regarded career esteem. The two most common disincentives were family considerations and the sacrifice of personal time.

Fewer than half of the final year medical students surveyed were willing to consider general surgery as a future career choice. Potential disincentives should be targeted to promote recruitment into the specialty.