Employment and Satisfaction Trends Among General Surgery Residents from a Community Hospital

Background Physician satisfaction is an important and timely issue in health care. A paucity of literature addresses this question among general surgeons. Purpose To review employment patterns and job satisfaction among general surgery residents from a single university-affiliated institution. Methods All general surgery residents graduating from 1986 to 2006, inclusive, were mailed an Institutional Review Board–approved survey, which was then returned anonymously. Information on demographics, fellowship training, practice characteristics, job satisfaction and change, and perceived shortcomings in residency training was collected. Results A total of 31 of 34 surveys were returned (91%). Most of those surveyed were male (94%) and Caucasian (87%). Sixty-one percent of residents applied for a fellowship, and all but 1 were successful in obtaining their chosen fellowship. The most frequent fellowship chosen was plastic surgery, followed by minimally invasive surgery. Seventy-one percent of residents who applied for fellowship felt that the program improved their competitiveness for a fellowship. Most of the sample is in private practice, and of those, 44% are in groups with more than 4 partners. Ninety percent work less than 80 hours per week. Only 27% practice in small towns (population