Impact of a six-year integrated thoracic surgery training program at the Medical College of Wisconsin. Ann Thorac Surg 2012 Feb;93(2):592-5; discussion 596-7
Date
01/03/2012Pubmed ID
22208202DOI
10.1016/j.athoracsur.2011.11.005Scopus ID
2-s2.0-84856100421 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site) 18 CitationsAbstract
BACKGROUND: Thoracic residency program enrollment continues to decline. While job market and decreasing reimbursements are often cited as the main reasons, length of and format of training may also be significant.
METHODS: The Medical College of Wisconsin established an Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education-approved 6-year integrated thoracic training program. The number and characteristics of applicants to the 6-year program were then compared with previous applicants applying to the traditional 2-year program.
RESULTS: Applicants to the 6-year integrated program scored higher on the United States Medical Licensing Examination part 1 and part 2 than previous applicants to the traditional 2-year program. The 6-year applicants also were more published and a greater percentage of them held other advanced degrees.
CONCLUSIONS: Institution of a 6-year integrated thoracic surgery training program at the Medical College of Wisconsin led to a significant increase in number of applications. Additionally, the 6-year applicants appeared to be more academically accomplished than previous applicants to the traditional 2-year program. While early in the experience, it appears that interest in thoracic surgery is high among medical students and institution of a 6-year program has the potential to once again attract the "best and the brightest" to this specialty.
Author List
Gasparri MG, Tisol WB, Masroor SAuthor
Mario G. Gasparri MD Professor in the Surgery department at Medical College of WisconsinMESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold
AdultAuthorship
Curriculum
Educational Measurement
Educational Status
Female
Humans
Internship and Residency
Licensure, Medical
Male
Program Evaluation
Schools, Medical
Thoracic Surgery
Time Factors
Wisconsin
