Outcomes and influences of rural-focused integrated clerkship programs in general surgery

Background: A shortage of general surgeons is predicted in the future, with particular impact on rural surgery. This is an exploratory analysis on a rural-focused longitudinal integrated clerkship to determine if such clerkships can be used to increase interest and recruitment in rural general surgery. Methods: An institutional database was reviewed to identify students who became general surgeons after completing a rural-focused longitudinal integrated clerkship. Telephone interviews were conducted on a portion of these surgeons. Results: Fifty-seven students (3.6%) completing the rural-focused longitudinal integrated clerkship became general surgeons. Of those participating in phone interviews, most (90%) decided to become surgeons during their experience while all stated that preclinical years did not influence their specialty decision. Conclusions: A substantial portion of these surgeons went on to practice in rural communities. Pre-existing rural and primary care-focused education could help to address the future projected shortage of rural general surgeons.