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A model for a career in a specialty of general surgery: One surgeon's opinion
Bona Ko1, Christopher R McHenry2
1Department of Surgery, Northwestern Medicine, Chicago, IL, USA.
Background:
The integration of general and endocrine surgery was studied as a potential career model for fellowship trained general surgeons.
Methods:
Case logs collected from 1991-2016 and academic milestones were examined for a single general surgeon with a focused interest in endocrine surgery. Operations were categorized using CPT codes and the 2017 ACGME "Major Case Categories" and there frequencies were determined.
Results:
10,324 operations were performed on 8209 patients. 412.9 ± 84.9 operations were performed yearly including 279.3 ± 42.7 general and 133.7 ± 65.5 endocrine operations. A high-volume endocrine surgery practice and a rank of tenured professor were achieved by years 11 and 13, respectively. At year 25, the frequency of endocrine operations exceeded general surgery operations.
Conclusion:
Maintaining a foundation in broad-based general surgery with a specialty focus is a sustainable career model. Residents and fellows can use the model to help plan their careers with realistic expectations.
