The diminishing experience in pediatric surgery for general surgery residents in the United States

• Published in: Journal of pediatric surgery 2021-07, Vol.56 (7), p.1219-1221
• Main Authors: Esparaz, Joseph R., Carter, Stewart R., Anderson, Scott A., Russell, Robert T., Radulescu, Andrei, Mathis, Michelle S., Chen, Mike K.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: ACGME; Case logs; Pediatric surgery; Volume
• ISSN: 0022-3468; 1531-5037
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jpedsurg.2021.03.042

•A significant decline in pediatric surgery cases in general surgery was identified.•Though meeting the set minimum, case variety was extremely limited.•Two case classification categories for surgery residents with zero logged cases.•Limited case numbers and case variety is diminishing the experience for residents. The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) regulates the general surgery residency curriculum. Case volume remains a priority as recent concerns surrounding a lack of proficiency for certain surgical cases have circulated. We hypothesize that there is a significant decrease in pediatric surgery case numbers during general surgery residency despite residents meeting the minimum case requirements. We reviewed publicly available ACGME case reports for general surgery residency from 1999 to 2018. Cases are classified as Surgeon Chief or Surgeon Junior. Analyzed data included case classifications, number of residents, and number of residency programs. Simple linear regression analysis was performed. We identified a significant decrease in total number of logged pediatric surgery cases over the past 20 years (p