Transition to Practice in Anesthesiology: Survey Results of Practicing Anesthesiologists on Their Experience

To assess the experiences and attitudes of practicing anesthesiologists on practice/business management training received during residency and transitioning to practice through an online survey.

An online survey, consisting of 39 questions developed by the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) Committee on Young Physicians, was emailed to 2 6551 practicing US anesthesiologists who were ASA members.

Questions about individuals' demographic information, transition to practice (TTP) experiences, medical business training, and TTP curricula in residency were included. Results were reported as descriptive statistics.

A total of 1199 responses were obtained (response rate 4.5%), and68% reported working in private practice over an average of 17 years. Those practicing ≤ 10 years were more likely to have a TTP curriculum in residency compared to those in practice ≥ 11 years. Common problems reported by many participants regarding TTP included: lack of effective mentorship, inadequate residency curricula/education, and an unfamiliarity with available resources.

Although medical business practice education is now required by training programs, there is room for improvement in education. One potential solution is establishing TTP curricula in residency programs, which emphasize the business aspects of medicine and practice management, thus easing trainees from a training to practice environment.