Why are junior doctors deterred from choosing a surgical career?

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Surgical Training
• Career Development

Background:

• Surgical specialties face challenges in attracting and retaining junior doctors.
• Understanding deterrents to surgical careers is vital for workforce planning.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify the primary reasons why junior doctors opt against pursuing a career in surgery.
• To explore gender-specific factors influencing career choices in surgical fields.

Main Methods:

• Qualitative study employing semi-structured telephone interviews.
• 41 junior doctors (14 male, 27 female) were surveyed about their specialty preferences and reasons for exclusion.
• Explored reasons for not choosing specific specialties, with a focus on surgery.

Main Results:

• 73.2% of interns identified surgery as a specialty they would not pursue.
• Key deterrents included surgical lifestyle (66.7%), work environment culture (53.3%), lack of interest (36.7%), and training requirements (33.3%).
• Women cited male domination and inflexible training as additional barriers.

Conclusions:

• Interventions are needed to enhance interest in surgical careers, particularly among women.
• Improving the surgical work environment and providing positive role models are essential.
• A more flexible surgical training program is recommended to attract and retain talent.