Surgical education
An Internet-based survey of factors influencing medical student selection of a general surgery career

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amjsurg.2005.03.019Get rights and content

Abstract

Background

This study descriptively analyzes characteristics of general surgery residency and practice and their influence on student interest in surgical careers.

Methods

Fourth-year medical students were invited to complete an Internet-based survey. A 5-point Likert scale described characteristics of general surgery residency and practice influencing medical student specialty selection. The same characteristics of nonsurgical careers were evaluated for students entering other specialties.

Results

A convenience sample of 408 students from 16 medical schools completed the survey. All respondents viewed lifestyles of surgical residents and attending surgeons as negative influences on specialty selection. Workload during surgical residency negatively influenced all respondents’ interest in a surgical career. Role model identification and perceived personality fit were important in selection of all specialties.

Conclusions

Medical students who choose surgical careers are not deterred by a negative perception of lifestyle and workload considerations. Mentoring and personality fit are central in medical student specialty selection.

Section snippets

Survey design and administration

Electronic mail contact with graduating medical students at approximately 70 Liason Committee on Medical Education (LCME)- and American Osteopathic Association-accredited US medical schools was attempted through the administration at these institutions; the institutions were selected because of ready availability of electronic mail contacts in their offices of student affairs. This initial contact included information about the survey and log-in information for the hosting web site. The survey

Demographics

A total of 408 students from 16 different medical schools responded to the Internet survey. The medical schools of the respondents represent a broad geographic cross-section of the United States (Table 1). The mean age of respondents was 27.2 years, and 52% of respondents were male (Table 2). Self-reported ethnic background of 72% of students who completed the survey was White/Caucasian; the minority groups with the most students responding included Indian or Pakistani (5.4%), other Asian

Comments

The use of an Internet-based survey tool to conduct a multi-institutional examination of factors influencing medical student specialty selection is unique to this study. This survey does suffer from possible recall bias and sample bias, as do most surveys of this nature. The timing of the survey was ideal for minimizing recall bias as it was conducted after residency interviews were completed and before National Residency Matching Program (NRMP) results were released. Sample bias is more of a

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