ArticleCMAJ open
Satisfaction and attrition in Canadian surgical training program leadership: a survey of program directors.
Article in CMAJ open. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.
What it found
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Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed.
- Workload demands, surgical education and training among resident surgeons in Germany: a cross-sectional questionnaire-based study.BMC medical education · 2026Article
- How do programme directors perceive trainee attrition? A qualitative focus group study in three Dutch teaching hospitals.BMJ open · 2025Article
- Where Does the Week Go? Parsing Trends in Program Director Workload.Journal of graduate medical education · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundSurgical program directors (PDs) play an integral role in the well-being and success of postgraduate trainees. Although studies about medical specialties have documented factors contributing to PD burnout, early attrition rates and contributory factors among surgical PDs have not yet been described. We aimed to evaluate Canadian surgical PD satisfaction, stressors in the role and areas institutions could target to improve PD support.
methodsWe administered a cross-sectional survey of postgraduate Canadian surgical PDs from all Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada accredited surgical specialties. Domains we assessed included PD demographics and compensation, availability of administrative support, satisfaction with the PD role and factors contributing to PD challenges and burnout.
resultsSixty percent of eligible surgical PDs (81 out of 134) from all 12 surgical specialties responded to the survey. We found significant heterogeneity in PD tenure, compensation models and available administrative support. All respondents reported exceeding their weekly protected time for the PD position, and 66% received less than 0.8 full-time equivalent of administrative support. One-third of respondents were satisfied with overall compensation, whereas 43% were unhappy with compensatory models. Most respondents (70%) enjoyed many aspects of the PD role, including relationships with trainees and shaping the education of future surgeons. Significant stressors included insufficient administrative support, complexities in resident remediation and inadequate compensation, which contributed to 37% of PDs having considered leaving the post prematurely.
interpretationMost surgical PDs enjoyed the role. However, intersecting factors such as disproportionate time demands, lack of administrative support and inadequate compensation for the role contributed to significant stress and risk of early attrition.
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