ArticleWorld journal of surgery2017
The Brain Drain Myth: Retention of Specialist Surgical Graduates in East, Central and Southern Africa, 1974-2013.
Article in World journal of surgery, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 27 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
27 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- North-South surgical training partnerships: a systematic review.Canadian journal of surgery. Journal canadien de chirurgie · 2020Pooled it
- Transforming healthcare: evaluating a decade of postgraduate training at the Liberia College of Physicians and Surgeons.Human resources for health · 2026Article
- Operating Together: Challenges and Solutions for Sustaining Impactful Global Health Partnerships From 18 years of the RCSI/COSECSA Surgical Training Collaboration.World journal of surgery · 2026Article
- The Language We Use to Teach Surgery: Language Inaccessibility of Minimally Invasive Surgical Training in Francophone Countries.World journal of surgery · 2025Article
- Winning the Global Surgery War: A Conceptual Framework.Plastic and reconstructive surgery. Global open · 2025Article
- Pediatric and Congenital Cardiac Services: An Innovative and Empowering Approach to Global Training and Equitable Care.Journal of the American Heart Association · 2025Review
- On the Shoulders of Giants: The Specialist Surgeon Workforce in East, Central and Southern Africa.World journal of surgery · 2025Article
- The Evolution of the Specialist Surgeon Workforce in East, Central and Southern Africa.World journal of surgery · 2025Article
- Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery Training and Service Delivery: An International Survey.Laryngoscope investigative otolaryngology · 2025Article
- Factors Limiting the Lifetime Impact of Surgical Training.Plastic and reconstructive surgery. Global open · 2025Article
- Retention strategies for medical doctors in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs): are they effective? A scoping review.BMC health services research · 2024Article
- A plea for urgent action: Addressing the critical shortage of cardiothoracic surgical workforce in the COSECSA region.World journal of surgery · 2024Article
- The State of Surgical Research in Sub-Saharan Africa: An Urgent Call for Surgical Research Trainers.Plastic and reconstructive surgery. Global open · 2024Article
- Article
- Partnering to build surgical capacity in low-resource settings: a qualitative study of Canadian global surgeons.BMJ open · 2023Article
- With equity in mind: Evaluating an interactive hybrid global surgery course for cross-site interdisciplinary learners.PLOS global public health · 2023Article
- Ten Global Surgical Care Statements for Children: examining our commitment to the future.Pediatric surgery international · 2021Review
- Projected impact of mandatory food fortification with folic acid on neurosurgical capacity needed for treating spina bifida in Ethiopia.Birth defects research · 2021Article
- Investing in surgery: a value proposition for African leaders.Lancet (London, England) · 2020Article
- Sustainable Orthopaedic Surgery Residency Training in East Africa: A 10-Year Experience in Kenya.Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. Global research & reviews · 2019Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThis study assesses the retention of specialist surgical graduates from training programmes across eight countries in East, Central and Southern Africa from 1974 to 2013. It addresses the gap in existing data by analysing retention rates of surgical graduates by comparing graduating institution to current location. Data were assessed by country, region, specialty and gender with a view to informing national and regional healthcare and education strategies.
methodsTwenty-five institutions train surgeons in the ten countries covered by the College of Surgeons of East, Central and Southern Africa (COSECSA)-24 Universities and the College itself. These institutions were requested in November 2014 to supply details of graduates from their postgraduate surgical training programmes. Complete graduate lists were returned by the College and 14 universities by March 2016. These surgical graduates were compared against the database of current practising surgeons in the region held by COSECSA. Data were cross-checked against medical council registers, surgical society records, and with members and fellows of COSECSA.
resultsData were incomplete for 126 surgical graduates. Of the remaining 1038 surgical graduates, 85.1% were retained in the country they trained in, while 88.3% were retained within the COSECSA region. Ninety-three per cent (93.4%) were retained within Africa. Of the eight countries, Malawi had the highest retention rate with 100% of surgical graduates remaining in country, while Zimbabwe had the lowest rate with 65.5% remaining.
conclusionHigh surgical graduate retention rates across the region indicate that the expansion of national surgical training initiatives is an effective solution to addressing the surgical workforce shortage in East, Central and Southern Africa and counters long-held arguments regarding brain drain in this region.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.