XML Feed for RxPG News   Add RxPG News Headlines to My Yahoo!   Javascript Syndication for RxPG News

Research Health World General
 
  Home
 
   Health
 Aging
 Asian Health
 Events
 Fitness
 Food & Nutrition
 Happiness
 Men's Health
 Mental Health
 Occupational Health
 Parenting
 Public Health
 Sleep Hygiene
 Women's Health
 
   Healthcare
 Africa
 Australia
 Canada Healthcare
 China Healthcare
 India Healthcare
 New Zealand
 South Africa
 UK
 USA
 World Healthcare
 
   Latest Research
 Aging
 Alternative Medicine
 Anaethesia
 Biochemistry
 Biotechnology
 Cancer
 Cardiology
 Clinical Trials
 Cytology
 Dental
 Dermatology
 Embryology
 Endocrinology
 ENT
 Environment
 Epidemiology
 Gastroenterology
 Genetics
 Gynaecology
 Haematology
 Immunology
 Infectious Diseases
 Medicine
 Metabolism
 Microbiology
 Musculoskeletal
 Nephrology
 Neurosciences
 Obstetrics
 Ophthalmology
 Orthopedics
 Paediatrics
 Pathology
 Pharmacology
 Physiology
 Physiotherapy
 Psychiatry
 Radiology
 Rheumatology
 Sports Medicine
 Surgery
 Toxicology
 Urology
 
   Medical News
 Awards & Prizes
 Epidemics
 Launch
 Opinion
 Professionals
  Doctors
   GMC
   GP
   UK
  Nurses
 
   Special Topics
 Ethics
 Euthanasia
 Evolution
 Feature
 Odd Medical News
 Climate
Search

Last Updated: Nov 18, 2006 - 1:55:25 PM

Doctors Channel
subscribe to Doctors newsletter

Medical News : Professionals : Doctors

   DISCUSS   |   EMAIL   |   PRINT
Small But Substantial Proportion Of Surgical Residents Interested In Part-Time Training
Oct 17, 2006 - 2:23:00 PM, Reviewed by: Dr. Venkat Yelamanchili

Although women were more likely than men to express interest in flexible options, lifestyle issues are not solely woman- or family-related, the authors continue.

 
Medical students expressed increased interest in a career in surgery if part-time training options were available, and some residents, fellows and practicing surgeons would be interested in flexible training options as well, according to the results of a web-based survey published in the October issue of Archives of Surgery, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

Current surgical residencies are a minimum of five years long; new regulations limit workweeks to 80 hours. As many as one-fifth of surgical residents leave their programs before finishing, most often citing lifestyle concerns, according to background information in the article. �Many of today�s medical students have more diverse interests and, when they apply for postgraduate training, may prefer specialties in which a more flexible approach to training (i.e., part-time, reduced hours or extended periods of time off) is an option to allow them to integrate other professional and family interests,� the authors write. Because about half of medical school graduates are now women, who comprise only 24 percent of general surgery residents, the field must devise methods to attract and retain female surgeons.

Alison R. Saalwachter, M.D., of the University of Virginia Health System, Charlottesville, and colleagues assessed interest in part-time training options among 482 medical students, 789 surgical residents, 179 surgical fellows and 2,858 fully trained surgeons using a web-based survey. The respondents were asked to rate, on a scale of one to five, how interested they would be in a general surgery training program that lasted longer but featured shorter workweeks (between 40 and 80 hours).

Of the 4,308 physicians and students who responded to the survey, 76 percent were male, and 20 to 30 percent would accept a residency that lasted longer than five years in exchange for the opportunity to train part-time (although few would accept an extension to more than seven years). Thirty-six percent of female and 24 percent of male medical students indicated that the availability of a more flexible approach to training would positively affect the decision to choose a career in surgery. At all levels of training, women were more likely than men to express interest in a program longer than five years and were also more likely to accept a reduction in salary during those years.

Of the survey respondents who were physicians, 9.1 percent had taken time off from their residency for reasons other than doing medical research. The authors suggest that even though not all residents would be interested in part-time training options, such programs could greatly benefit those who desire flexibility for personal, financial or health reasons. �Flexible options should be available for those who need it who might otherwise feel unable to pursue or continue in a surgical career,� they write. �For example, the availability of protected time off could permit a surgeon in training to tend to a personal crisis or a family emergency, whereas, without this option, he or she may have to resign from a program with no guarantee of being able to finish training.�

Although women were more likely than men to express interest in flexible options, lifestyle issues are not solely woman- or family-related, the authors continue. �In light of recent concerns about decreasing applications to general surgery training programs and a need to appeal to students with greater interest in controllable lifestyle careers, a more flexible approach to surgical training could boost interest and improve applicant caliber,� they write. �Because the upcoming generation is less willing than previous ones to sacrifice quality of life, academic medicine will lose both women and men if greater work balance is not achievable.�
 

- October issue of Archives of Surgery, one of the JAMA/Archives journals
 

Arch Surg. 2006;141:977-982

 
Subscribe to Doctors Newsletter
E-mail Address:

 



Related Doctors News
Doctor arrested for rape in Delhi
Indian doctors in Britain fail key exams
Indian doctor kills self after parents reject British fiancee
Indian-American doctor couple killed in Ohio plane crash
Administrative lapses led to doctor's lynching: Nitish
Siddhartha Mukherjee won Pulitzer for his book on Cancer
Britain to grant 20,000 visas to Indian workers annually
Doctors need to develop their skill to improve healthcare
Medical Council ponders common entrance exam for budding doctors
Study to Understand Health, Stress and Work-related Issues of Physicians of Indian Origin


For any corrections of factual information, to contact the editors or to send any medical news or health news press releases, use feedback form

Top of Page

 

© Copyright 2004 onwards by RxPG Medical Solutions Private Limited
Contact Us