Combining disparate surgical residencies into one: lessons learned

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Surgical Training
• Residency Programs

Background:

• Examining resident attitudes and career goals during the integration of community and academic surgical residency programs.
• Profiling educational experiences of general surgery residents post-acquisition.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the impact of academic acquisition of a community residency program on general surgery residents' perceptions.
• To compare attitudes and career goals between community program matriculants (CPM) and academic program matriculants (APM) before and after program amalgamation.

Main Methods:

• Survey of general surgery residents (postgraduate years 2-5) using a Likert scale to compare perceptions in seven training categories.
• Statistical analysis including Fisher exact test and one-sided t-test to evaluate differences between CPM and APM cohorts.
• 35 residents participated (83% response rate), with 23 APM (66%) and 12 CPM (34%).

Main Results:

• No significant negative perceptions regarding surgical training, career planning, or scholarship were reported by either cohort.
• Community program matriculants (CPM) reported significantly improved scholarship opportunities and faculty networking post-acquisition.
• CPM experienced more frequent perception changes post-acquisition, with a trend towards better access to competitive specialties.

Conclusions:

• Academic acquisition of community surgery residencies does not appear to negatively affect overall trainee perceptions of training.
• Community program matriculants (CPM) reported enhanced research opportunities and faculty networking, supporting academic surgery career paths.
• The influence of such acquisitions on CPMs' pursuit of competitive fellowships requires further investigation.