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Volume 137, Issue 5 , Pages 1054-1062 , May 2009

Factors affecting interest in cardiothoracic surgery: Survey of North American general surgery residents

Ara A. Vaporciyan, MD
- Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas
- Address correspondence to Ara A. Vaporciyan, MD, 1515 Holcombe Blvd, Unit 445, Houston, TX 77030-4009.
Carolyn E. Reed, MD
- Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina
Clese Erikson, MPAff
- Center for Workforce Studies, Association of American Medical Colleges, Washington, DC
Michael J. Dill, MPP
- Center for Workforce Studies, Association of American Medical Colleges, Washington, DC
Andrea J. Carpenter, MD
- Division of Thoracic Surgery, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas
Kristine J. Guleserian, MD
- Department of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery, University of Texas Southwestern Children's Medical Center Dallas, Dallas, Texas
Walter Merrill, MD
- Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio

Received 5 January 2009 ,Revised 24 February 2009 ,Accepted 26 February 2009.

The percentage of male and female respondents in each category of interest in cardiothoracic surgery.

The percentage of male and female respondents in each category of interest in cardiothoracic surgery.
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This 100% stacked column graph illustrates the rapid decline in residents who are undecided but interested in cardiothoracic surgery (CTS) after their third year of clinical training. It also illustra

This 100% stacked column graph illustrates the rapid decline in residents who are undecided but interested in cardiothoracic surgery (CTS) after their third year of clinical training. It also illustrates that many of the residents who are committed to CTS do so between their second and fourth year of training.
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This question asked respondents to choose the dimension of cardiothoracic surgery (CTS) that they found most appealing. The respondents committed to CTS included the respondents who indicated that the

This question asked respondents to choose the dimension of cardiothoracic surgery (CTS) that they found most appealing. The respondents committed to CTS included the respondents who indicated that they had already chosen CTS as their career (N = 110, missing data on 10 respondents). The group respondents not choosing CTS included respondents who were not committed to CTS irrespective of their interest in CTS (N = 1342, missing data on 701 respondents).
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The percentage of respondents committed to cardiothoracic surgery (CTS) was plotted according to the length of their CTS rotations. In addition, the percentage of respondents who strongly agreed that

The percentage of respondents committed to cardiothoracic surgery (CTS) was plotted according to the length of their CTS rotations. In addition, the percentage of respondents who strongly agreed that their CTS rotation was a positive experience, that CTS faculty acted as a role model, or that CTS faculty took an interest in their career was also plotted according to the length of their CTS rotations. In each of these variables, a strong correlation was identified with increasing length of their CTS rotations.
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