Solving the Surgical Workforce Dilemma

This new research is a refinement of the work many of us did as part of the American Surgical Association Blue Ribbon Committee on Surgical Education, which led to this recommendation: "There needs to be acceptance of the reality that most surgeons will confine the scope of their practices to meet definable goals. This should lead to earlier differentiation into goal-oriented specialty tracks" (Ann. Surg. 2005;241:1-8).

The new work may not solve all of the issues confronting surgical education in the United States, but it’s an important start by serious surgical educators. It will be interesting to watch and see how this work develops.

Dr. Zinner is an ACS Fellow and surgeon in chief at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.

Dr. Michael Zinner