Defining characteristics of categorical general surgery resident lateral transfers

Few studies describe rationales for intraspecialty ('lateral') general surgery (GS) resident program transfers.

We aimed to describe the key features of GS residency programs reporting lateral transfers, to characterize reasons behind transfer events, and to compare transferring resident skill sets against their new institutional peers.

A survey was administered in October 2020 to capture program features and demographic information of residents who transferred into or out of a GS residency program during a 5-year period. This survey was approved and distributed by the Association of Program Directors in Surgery to all participating GS program directors and coordinators. Survey responses were collected, and descriptive analyses were performed.

Of 69 program responses (21.5% survey response rate), 42 (61%) indicated the presence of any type of transfer event (in or out); 19 of 69 (27.5%) programs reported having at least one categorical GS resident transfer out, and 31 of 69 (44.9%) programs reported having at least one transfer in. Most transfer-out events (94.7%) were resident initiated, and the most commonly cited rationale was family obligation (78.9%). Most programs reported that residents who transferred in were on par with the existing resident cohort with respect to their medical knowledge, administrative abilities, and communication skills.

GS transfers were not uncommon and most were resident initiated secondary to family obligations. The majority of transfer resident skill sets met institutional expectations by the time of graduation. Programs surveyed were content with their decision to accept transfer residents.

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