Perceptions of general surgery residents at military treatment facilities: Excellent training with crisis of confidence.


Journal

The journal of trauma and acute care surgery
ISSN: 2163-0763
Titre abrégé: J Trauma Acute Care Surg
Pays: United States
ID NLM: 101570622

Informations de publication

Date de publication:
12 Jul 2024
Historique:
medline: 13 7 2024
pubmed: 13 7 2024
entrez: 12 7 2024
Statut: aheadofprint

Résumé

The declining operative volume at Military Treatment Facilities (MTFs) has resulted in Program Directors finding alternate civilian sites for resident rotations. The continued shift away from MTFs for surgical training is likely to have unintended negative consequences. An anonymous survey was generated and sent to the program directors of military general surgery training programs for distribution to their residents. A total of 42 residents responded (response rate 21%) with adequate representation from all PGY years. Ninety-five percent of residents believed that their programs provided the training needed to be a competent general surgeon. However, when asked about career choices, only 30.9% reported being likely/extremely likely to remain in the military beyond their initial service obligation, while 54.7% reported that it was unlikely/extremely unlikely and 19% reported uncertainty. Eighty-eight percent reported that decreasing MTF surgical volume directly influenced their decision to stay in the military, and half of respondents regretted joining the military. When asked to assess their confidence in the military to provide opportunities for skill sustainment as a staff surgeon, 90.4% were not confident or were neutral. Although military surgical residents have a generally positive perception of their surgical training, they also lack confidence in their future military surgical careers. Our findings suggest that declining MTF surgical volume will likely negatively impact long-term retention of military surgeons and may negatively impact force generation for Operational Commander. Prognostic and Epidemiological, Level IV.

Sections du résumé

BACKGROUND BACKGROUND
The declining operative volume at Military Treatment Facilities (MTFs) has resulted in Program Directors finding alternate civilian sites for resident rotations. The continued shift away from MTFs for surgical training is likely to have unintended negative consequences.
METHODS METHODS
An anonymous survey was generated and sent to the program directors of military general surgery training programs for distribution to their residents.
RESULTS RESULTS
A total of 42 residents responded (response rate 21%) with adequate representation from all PGY years. Ninety-five percent of residents believed that their programs provided the training needed to be a competent general surgeon. However, when asked about career choices, only 30.9% reported being likely/extremely likely to remain in the military beyond their initial service obligation, while 54.7% reported that it was unlikely/extremely unlikely and 19% reported uncertainty. Eighty-eight percent reported that decreasing MTF surgical volume directly influenced their decision to stay in the military, and half of respondents regretted joining the military. When asked to assess their confidence in the military to provide opportunities for skill sustainment as a staff surgeon, 90.4% were not confident or were neutral.
CONCLUSION CONCLUSIONS
Although military surgical residents have a generally positive perception of their surgical training, they also lack confidence in their future military surgical careers. Our findings suggest that declining MTF surgical volume will likely negatively impact long-term retention of military surgeons and may negatively impact force generation for Operational Commander.
LEVEL OF EVIDENCE METHODS
Prognostic and Epidemiological, Level IV.

Identifiants

pubmed: 38996436
doi: 10.1097/TA.0000000000004415
pii: 01586154-990000000-00770
doi:

Types de publication

Journal Article

Langues

eng

Sous-ensembles de citation

IM

Informations de copyright

Copyright © 2024 Written work prepared by employees of the Federal Government as part of their official duties is, under the U.S. Copyright Act, a “work of the United States Government” for which copyright protection under Title 17 of the United States Code is not available. As such, copyright does not extend to the contributions of employees of the Federal Government.

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Auteurs

Erin West (E)

From the Department of Surgery (E.W., K.G., M.J.K., D.V., P.M.C.), Naval Medical Center San Diego, San Diego, California; Department of Surgery (J.H.), Madigan Army Medical Center, Tacoma, Washington; Department of Surgery (S.M.G.), Tripler Army Medical Center, Honolulu, Hawaii; Department of Surgery (B.F.), Eisenhower Army Medical Center, Augusta, Georgia; Department of Surgery (R.W.K.), Brooke Army Medical Center, Fort Sam Houston; and Department of Surgery (D.N.), Beaumont Army Medical Center, Fort Bliss, Texas.

Classifications MeSH