Impact of family and gender on career goals: results of a national survey of 4586 surgery residents.
Arch Surg. 2010 May;145(5):418-24
Authors: Viola KV, Bucholz E, Yeo H, Piper C, Bell RH, Sosa JA
OBJECTIVE: To determine how marriage, children, and gender influence US categorical general surgery residents’ perceptions of their profession and motivations for specialty training. DESIGN: Cross-sectional national survey administered after the January 2008 American Board of Surgery In-service Training Examination. SETTING: Two hundred forty-eight US general surgery residency programs. PARTICIPANTS: All US categorical general surgery residents. INTERVENTIONS: We evaluated demographic characteristics with respect to survey responses using the chi(2) test, analysis of variance, and multivariate logistic regression. Interaction terms between variables were assessed. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Perceptions of respondents regarding the future of general surgery and the role of specialty training in relation to anticipated income and lifestyle. RESULTS: The survey response rate was 75.0% (4586 respondents). Mean age was 30.6 years; 31.7% were women, 51.3% were married, and 25.4% had children. Of the respondents, 28.7% believed general surgery is becoming obsolete (30.1% of men and 25.9% of women; P = .004), and 55.1% believed specialty training is necessary for success (56.4% of men and 52.7% of women; P = .02). Single residents and residents without children were more likely to plan for fellowship (59.1% single vs 51.9% married, P < .001; 57.0% with no children vs 50.1% with children, P < .001). In our multivariate analyses, male gender was an independent predictor of worry that general surgery is becoming obsolete (P = .003). Female residents who were single or had no children tended to identify lifestyle rather than income as a motivator for specialty training. CONCLUSION: Marital status, children, and gender appear to have a powerful effect on general surgery residents' career planning.
20479338
…more
A family operation: plastic surgeons who perform aesthetic surgery on spouses or other family members.
Plast Reconstr Surg. 2010 Mar;125(3):1018-23
Authors: Slavin SA, Slavin SA, Goldwyn RM
BACKGROUND:: The purpose of this study was to investigate whether plastic surgeons would perform elective cosmetic surgery on spouses or other family members and how many have done so, the type of procedures, the circumstances under which the surgery took place, and the results. METHODS:: Participants were 465 members of the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, representing 30.7 percent of the overall sample pool of 1513 members recruited through anonymous, voluntary participation in an online survey. Approximately half (51.8 percent) were 51 to 65 years old, most were men (91.2 percent), and most were from large urban areas; respondents had been in practice for 1 to 40 years. RESULTS:: The plastic surgeons who returned the survey were comfortable performing elective cosmetic procedures on family members, the majority having already done so. Eighty-eight percent reported they would operate on a spouse or other family member, and 83.9 percent reported they already had. The main motivation (67 percent) was their belief that they were the best surgeon for the procedure. The most commonly listed operations were rhinoplasty, abdominoplasty, eyelidplasty, face lift, breast augmentation, and liposuction. Patients included spouses, children, parents, cousins, and in-laws, ranging from teenaged males to women in their 70s. The overwhelming majority (94.2 percent) reported no complications, and 99.5 percent believed the patients were satisfied with their outcome. CONCLUSIONS:: Survey participants are comfortable with the idea of performing elective cosmetic procedures on family members. Regardless of the invasiveness of the procedure or their relationship with the patient, respondents reported no complications and a high level of patient satisfaction anomalous for any patient-surgeon sample, suggesting that surgeons who operate on family members hold confident opinions of their surgical skills and results.
20195128
…more
Focused parathyroidectomy guided by intra-operative parathormone monitoring does not miss multiglandular disease in patients with sporadic primary hyperparathyroidism: a 10-year outcome.
Surgery. 2009 Dec;146(6):1021-7
Authors: Lew JI, Irvin GL
BACKGROUND: There remains concern that focused parathyroidectomy guided by intra-operative parathormone monitoring (IPM) will miss multiglandular disease (MGD) leading to a higher recurrence rate. This study reports the 10-year outcome of patients with sporadic primary hyperparathyroidism treated by focused parathyroidectomy guided by IPM. METHODS: From 1993 to 1998, 173 consecutive patients with sporadic primary hyperparathyroidism underwent focused parathyroidectomy guided by IPM. When IPM showed >50% decrease 10 minutes after abnormal gland excision, the operation was completed. Recurrent hyperparathyroidism was defined as elevated serum calcium and parathormone (PTH) levels >6 months after successful parathyroidectomy. RESULTS: There were 164 patients with a mean follow-up of 83 months. In this group, 96% patients had single gland disease (SGD) and 4% had MGD. Five (3%) patients developed recurrent hyperparathyroidism at 2, 4, 9, 10, and 12 years. In 43 eucalcemic patients followed for >10 years, PTH levels remained normal in 54%, were constantly above normal range in 2%, or varied between normal and above normal range in 44%. CONCLUSION: In patients 10 years after treatment, IPM-guided parathyroidectomy does not fail to identify MGD, allows for limited dissection in SGD, and shows that various sized parathyroid glands left in situ do not cause higher recurrence rates.
19879612
…more
