The overall number of general surgeons per 100,000 people has declined by 26 percent over the past 25 years. As demand increases, supply has been stunted because many general surgery graduates go into subspecialties and the total number of Medicare-funded residency positions has not risen in 13 years.
Medicare, the chief funding source for residency positions, finances 100,000 residency positions, but that number has remained static since 1997, when Congress imposed a cap on funded positions.
In the college’s survey, conducted in Nov. 2009, 80 percent of general surgery programs reported having sufficient clinical and operative volume to accommodate an average increase of 1.9 residents per year. That would add 378 slots, raising the total number to 1,515.
To solve the shortage, “new educational sites and new educational models” need to be developed, the college said, adding: “Above all, we need federal action to unfreeze the funding for residency positions.”
Read the American College of Surgeons’ survey results on surgery residency programs.
