Rural rotations for senior surgical residents. Influence on future practice location

No information is available on factors that influence a surgeon's decision of where to practice. We surveyed all recent graduates of a surgical training residency program from a single institution to determine factors that influence this decision. An attempt was made to determine if a rural rotation during training ultimately influenced surgeons to locate their practices in rural areas. Ninety percent of 58 graduates responded: 44% entered a rural practice and 56% an urban and/or academic practice. A rural rotation during residency had been completed by 64% of the respondents. A significantly larger number of those who entered rural practice had completed a rural rotation than those who entered urban practice. Hometown size, level of debt, and other factors thought to be influential for other subpopulations of physicians were not found to be significant in this review.