Kimberly D. Anderson

The relationship between career satisfaction and fellowship training in academic surgeons

BACKGROUND Academic surgeons make various important decisions about their careers; however, little is known about the relationships between fellowship training, career development issues, and academic responsibilities. METHODS Surgeon members of the Association for Surgical Education were surveyed about career development issues. Three hundred ninety-two (75.2%) surgeons responded. RESULTS An exploratory factor analysis of the career development issues revealed four career development factors. Statistically significant differences were found between types of fellowship training and the career development factors. Nonfellowship-trained and clinical-fellowship-trained surgeons spend their time similarly to physicians in other specialties. Research-fellowship-trained surgeons spent significantly more time doing research, had fewer concerns about professional confidence, and expressed greater satisfaction with their careers. CONCLUSION There is a relationship between career development issues, fellowship training, and type of fellowship training. Attention to these issues may be important in recruiting and retaining academic surgeons.

Feeling the stress: perceptions of burnout among general surgery program directors.

PURPOSE To document the types and levels of stress experienced by general surgery program directors as they fulfill their education and administrative responsibilities. METHODS This study consisted of a 3-part survey that incorporated 2 established instruments to help determine the presence of burnout in program directors. A personal projects analysis was used to help identify the tasks most relevant to the role of program director as well as to evaluate their perceptions of these tasks. The Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) was used to measure the degree of burnout among program directors. Demographic data were gathered to develop a picture of the background of the program directors and how they spent their time. RESULTS A total of 71.8% of program directors responded. Of all tasks, teaching received the highest ratings for importance, enjoyment, and control, as well as the lowest ratings for stress. Emotional exhaustion was the most notable aspect of burnout in program directors on the MBI. Program directors scoring high in burnout were younger, had been in their current position fewer years, and had fewer years overall as a program director. CONCLUSIONS Burnout is more related to age and experience of program director than to features of the program itself.