Current status of international experiences in general surgery residency programs in the United States.

Filipe A Sobral,Melissa K Suh,Lynette Smith,Alexis N Bowder,Chandrakanth Are,Advaitaa Ravipati

doi:10.1186/s40064-016-2270-x

Filipe A Sobral, Melissa K Suh + Show 4 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1186/s40064-016-2270-x

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Abstract

BackgroundThe aim of this study is to identify, quantify, and characterize the international experiences available for general surgery residents in the general surgery residency programs in the United States (US).MethodsThe Fellowship and Residency Electronic Interactive Database (FREIDA) database was used to identify all the general surgery residency programs in the US. Each institution was contacted by both e-mail and telephone. Respondents were asked if an international experience was available for residents within their program and, if available, details of the experience were obtained.ResultsA total of 253 general surgery residency programs were identified using the FREIDA database. Eighty-six (34 %) programs were noted to offer an international experience for their residents. A majority are incorporated into the PGY 3 and PGY 4 level of training with a duration of 1–4 weeks. Common locations are evenly distributed among the Americas and Africa and are usually funded through a combination of resident and department funding.ConclusionsUS resident interest in global health is growing along with an increasing demand for surgical care worldwide. This is one of the first studies to identify, quantify, and characterize in detail the international experiences currently available to general surgery residents within the general surgery training programs in the US. These results can help general surgery residency applicants with an interest in global health and also pave the path for residency programs to develop future international experiences.

Highlights

The aim of this study is to identify, quantify, and characterize the international experiences available for general surgery residents in the general surgery residency programs in the United States (US)
Since 2011, when the Residency Review Committee and the American Board of Surgery approved international rotations to count toward graduation requirements, interest in pursuing international electives has increased (Mitchell et al 2011; Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education 2015)
After identification of general surgery residency programs, an email was sent to the program coordinators listed as the contact person from the Fellowship and Residency Electronic Interactive Database (FREIDA) database from each institution and each program was contacted by telephone

Summary

Introduction

The aim of this study is to identify, quantify, and characterize the international experiences available for general surgery residents in the general surgery residency programs in the United States (US). The Lancet Commission on Global Surgery estimates that five billion people worldwide lack access to safe and affordable surgical and anesthetic care with the greatest disparity existing in low and middleincome settings (Meara and Greenberg 2015; Lett 2003). Continue to recognize and advocate for an increased surgical presence in developing nations. They are working towards establishing goals for improved surgical care worldwide. There has been an increase in interest as well as recognition of the importance of international surgical experiences for general surgery residents in the United States (US). Surveys of residents from individual institutions and national surveys have documented a significant interest among respondents in pursuing international surgical experiences

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