[Student program, congress grants and their potential influence on surgical career selection]

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Surgical Training
• Career Development

Background:

• Declining interest in surgical training necessitates interventions.
• The German Society of Surgery (GSS) implemented a sponsored student program to boost surgical career applications.
• Previous evaluations of the GSS program's effectiveness were lacking.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the impact of the GSS student program on increasing surgical residency applications.
• To determine if the sponsored congress program influences medical students' career choices towards surgery.

Main Methods:

• A questionnaire was administered to 200 medical students attending the 2014 GSS annual congress.
• Participants received a congress grant totaling €100,000.
• The survey assessed the number of participants who subsequently started a surgical residency.

Main Results:

• Only 17% of program participants responded to the survey.
• 6.5% of all participants (13 students) reported starting a surgical residency.
• Students interested in surgery prior to the program were more likely to pursue it; the program did not sway undecided students.

Conclusions:

• The GSS student program and associated grants did not demonstrably increase applications for surgical residencies.
• These initiatives may function primarily as marketing tools rather than effective recruitment strategies.
• Addressing work-life balance and associated challenges in daily surgical practice is crucial for attracting future surgeons.