Powell Anathea C, Mueller Claudia, Kingham Peter, Berman Russell, Pachter H Leon, Hopkins Mary Ann
Department of Surgery, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA.
J Am Coll Surg. 2007 Jul;205(1):162-8. doi: 10.1016/j.jamcollsurg.2007.02.049. Epub 2007 May 17.
Sustainable international surgery expertise is more frequently being discussed in the US surgical community. At the resident level, there is discussion about incorporating international experience into residency training, but current opportunities for residents are limited and often require personal funding and use of vacation time. This study analyzed resident interest in acquiring international experience.
A structured questionnaire was administered anonymously to all New York University general surgery residents. The questionnaire elicited demographic information and information about interest in an international surgery elective and future volunteerism. Descriptive statistics and chi-square analyses were performed for the completed data.
Fifty-two of 63 residents (82.5%) completed surveys. Fifty-one residents (98%) were interested in an international elective, and 38 residents (73%) would prioritize such an elective over all other electives. Twenty-three (44%) and 25 (48%) residents would be willing to use vacation and finance the elective, respectively. The most frequent expectations of international training were acquiring technical and clinical skills (94% of residents) and cultural skills (88%). Residents believed financial difficulties and scheduling conflicts were the most significant barriers to international training (82% and 53%, respectively). Thirty-two residents (62%) planned to incorporate volunteer work into their future practice. Chi-square analyses revealed a significant relationship between residents who would prioritize international training and those who planned to incorporate volunteerism into their future practice (p<0.01).
International training represents an opportunity for US surgical education to provide residents with broader clinical expertise and increased cultural awareness. Our data suggest that surgical residents at NYU are strongly interested in acquiring this experience and that international training may provide an opportunity to encourage lifelong volunteerism. National study of US residents and faculty is warranted to further investigate these conclusions.
美国外科界越来越频繁地讨论可持续的国际外科专业知识。在住院医师层面，人们讨论将国际经验纳入住院医师培训，但目前住院医师获得此类经验的机会有限，而且通常需要个人资金并占用休假时间。本研究分析了住院医师对获得国际经验的兴趣。
对纽约大学所有普通外科住院医师进行了匿名的结构化问卷调查。问卷收集了人口统计学信息以及对国际外科选修课程的兴趣和未来志愿服务的信息。对完整数据进行描述性统计和卡方分析。
63名住院医师中有52名（82.5%）完成了调查。51名住院医师（98%）对国际选修课程感兴趣，38名住院医师（73%）会将此类选修课程置于所有其他选修课程之上。23名（44%）和25名（48%）住院医师分别愿意使用休假时间并为选修课程提供资金。国际培训最常见的期望是获得技术和临床技能（94%的住院医师）以及文化技能（88%）。住院医师认为经济困难和时间安排冲突是国际培训的最重要障碍（分别为82%和53%）。32名住院医师（62%）计划在未来的实践中融入志愿工作。卡方分析显示，将国际培训置于优先地位的住院医师与计划在未来实践中融入志愿工作的住院医师之间存在显著关系（p<0.01）。
国际培训为美国外科教育提供了一个机会，使住院医师能够获得更广泛的临床专业知识并增强文化意识。我们的数据表明，纽约大学的外科住院医师对获得这种经验有着浓厚的兴趣，而且国际培训可能提供一个鼓励终身志愿服务的机会。有必要对美国住院医师和教员进行全国性研究，以进一步探讨这些结论。
