What Procedures Are Rural General Surgeons Performing and Are They Prepared to Perform Specialty Procedures in Practice?

This study describes specialty procedures performed by general surgeons operating in a rural state and how prepared the surgeons felt starting their rural practice after residency A survey was sent to all exclusively rural surgeons actively practicing in the state, inquiring about their perception of preparedness for rural practice and specialty procedures performed. The survey had a 65.2 per cent response rate. Responders felt well prepared for rural practice after residency (mean response 4.6 ± 0.8 on a Likert scale from 1 to 5; 5 = "well prepared"). Noteworthy, specialty procedures performed by rural surgeons included hysterectomies (51.2%), thyroidectomies (81.4%), parathyroidectomies (60.5%), carotid endarterectomies (11.6%), video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (37.2%), and lobectomies (23.3%). Prominent write-ins included nephrectomies (n = 1), ileal conduits (n = 1), open and endovascular abdominal aortic aneurysm repair (n = 1), Whipples (n = 3), and liver resections (n = 2). Rural general surgeons perform many major operations usually performed by specialists. These surgeons felt well prepared for these operations out of residency. PMID: 31267898 [PubMed - in process]
Source: The American Surgeon - Category: Surgery Authors: Tags: Am Surg Source Type: research