Demographic Factors Associated With Research and Career Interests in Aspiring Academic Surgeons: What are the Implications for Tomorrow's Workforce?

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the research and career inter-ests of aspiring academic surgeons and determine the influence of demographic factors. DESIGN: Cross-sectional survey SETTING: Single institution, academic general surgery residency program PARTICIPANTS: Medical students invited to interview during 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 residency cycle RESULTS: One hundred fifty-four of 160 (96%) potential respondents representing 63 medical schools completed the survey, American Association for Public Opinion Research Response Rate 6. Fifty-three percent of the study population was female. Seventeen percent identi-fied as Black, 14% Asian, 13% Latinx, 50% white, and 6% other. Respondents were most interested in education, professional development, and surgical culture (32%) fol-lowed by basic and translational science (23%), global and community health (20%), and health services (18%). On multiple logistic regression, interest in global/com-munity health was associated with identifying as Black (OR 5.9 [2.0, 17.8] p = 0.001) and female (OR 2.7 [1.0, 7.0] p = 0.044). A plurality of participants were unde-cided on future specialty (n = 63, 41%). The most com-mon specialty interests were surgical oncology (n = 28, 18%); trauma, acute care, or surgical critical care (n = 21, 14%); pediatric and cardiothoracic surgery (n = 20 for each, 13%); and abdominal transplant (n = 15, 10%). CONCLUSIONS: In this cross-sectional survey of highly competitive academic general surgery applicants, respondents who were underrepresented in medicine (URiM) and women were more interested in research fields with a history of lower relative NIH funding. In light of these findings, academic programs seeking a more diverse residency workforce should consider strat-egies beyond recruitment to promote the scholarly achievement of women and URiM residents. (J Surg Ed 79:1447-1453. (c) 2022 Association of Program Direc-tors in Surgery. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Automated summary

This cross-sectional survey evaluated the research and career interests of aspiring academic surgeons and found that demographic factors influenced their choices. The results showed that female and underrepresented in medicine (URiM) respondents were more inclined towards research fields with lower relative funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH).