Career needs Assessment for Early Career Academic Surgeons using a Modified Accelerated Delphi Process

Over the past two decades physicians wellbeing has become a topic of interest. It is currently unclear what the currents needs are of early career academic surgeons (ECAS). Consensus statements on academic needs were developed during a Delphi process, including all presenters from the previous European Surgical Association (ESA) meetings (2018-2022). The Delphi involved: (1) literature review, (2) Delphi form generation, (3) accelerated Delphi process. Delphi form was generated by a steering group that discussed findings identified within literature. The modified accelerated e-consensus approach included three rounds over a four week period. Consensus was defined as >80% agreement in any round. Forty respondents completed all three rounds of the Delphi. Median age was 37 years (IQR 5), and 53% were female. Majority was consultant/attending (52.5%), followed by PhD (22.5%), fellowship (15%) and residency (10%). ECAS was defined as a surgeon in 'development' years of clinical and academic practice relative to their career goals (87.9% agreement). Access to split academic and clinical contracts are desirable (87.5%). Consensus on the factors contributing to ECAS underperformance included: burnout (94.6%), lack of funding (80%), lack of mentorship (80%) and excessive clinical commitments (80%). Desirable factors to support ECAS development included: access to e-learning (90.9%), face to face networking opportunities (95%), support for research team development (100%) and specific formal mentorship (93.9%). The evolving role and responsibilities of ECAS requires increasing strategic support, mentorship and guidance on structures career planning. This will facilitate workforce sustainability in academic surgery for the future.