Surgery News - October 2007 - (Page 9)

OCTOBER 2007 • SURGERY NEWS 9 THE THE E Survey Tracks Young Surgeons’ Concerns BY JANE ANDERSON Else vier Global Medical Ne ws M embership in the American College of Surgeons is important—both professionally and personally—to young surgeons, whose top concerns involve reimbursement, malpractice and tort reform, and quality of care. That’s the word from an online survey of 2,690 ACS members aged 45 and younger. The survey was sponsored by the ACS and its Resident and Associate Society (RAS) in an effort to delve into opinions on the ACS and what the organization can do to help students, residents, and newly practicing surgeons. Reimbursement was rated as one of the three most important issues facing surgery today by 41% of medical students and 84% of fellows. And 32% of medical students placed malpractice and tort reform on their “most important” list, while 57% of fellows included it. “I was surprised that medical student members of the College were most concerned about the impact of reimbursement and malpractice on the future of surgery,” said Dr. Gregory Cherr, who chairs the RAS and is associate director of the general surgery program at the State University of New York at Buffalo. “I expected this answer from practicing young surgeons, but not the students. It will be important to learn more about the source of these concerns, and how this affects the career decisions of medical students.” Health care policy issues emerged as a priority interest of all survey respondents, said Dr. Ted James, vice chair of the RAS and assistant professor of surgery at the University of Vermont, Burlington. “Young surgeons are apparently quite concerned with the nonclinical challenges facing surgery, and want to become involved in the ACS in order to address these health policy issues.” Dr. James noted that students and surgeons-in-training were somewhat more focused on personal and career development, while practicing surgeons were somewhat more focused on becoming involved in organizations that would allow them to take an active role in shaping the future of the health care system. How to balance career and family and how to embrace and utilize new technology were also considered important. Many survey respondents expressed concern about surgical manpower issues and “continuing to entice the best and the brightest medical students into surgical careers,” said Dr. Cherr. More than 80% of those surveyed agreed that it is important for the ACS to help recruit medical students into surgical careers. Male surgeons, non- general surgeons, junior members, and academic surgeons were significantly more likely to agree or strongly agree with this statement. Young surgeons also voiced concern about the impact of restricted duty hours on training and noted the importance of electronic information such as surgical Web sites and online journals and textbooks. There were some differences in responses between the age groups surveyed, Dr. Cherr noted. Medical students and residents are interested in ACS-sponsored mentorship programs, while practicing young surgeons are at the stage where they can be the mentors. Associate fellows expressed interest in opportunities to serve in the College, to act as mentors. and to address reimbursement issues. Fellows were most concerned with enhancing opportunities for young surgeons to serve on ACS committees, im- 20/20 / 0/20 V SION O SIO SION IO prove reimbursement, and deal with malpractice reform, added Dr. James. The survey included results from 14.6% of those initially asked by the ACS to participate. The response rate was significantly lower for medical students (8.9%) than for other members. ■ http://www.kchealthcare.com/ssi http://www.kchealthcare.com/ssi

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Surgery News - October 2007

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