Ian M Kratzke, Muneera R Kapadia, Rachel Yudkowsky, Laura E Hirshfield
Residents' ability to pursue medical education training is shaped most by the modifiable factors of program structure, mentorship, and funding. As interest in surgical education grows, programs should develop structured pathways, mentorship, and financial support to broaden access. Strengthening this pipeline may expand the community of well-trained surgical educators who advance surgical education and research.
OBJECTIVE: To investigate why surgical residents pursue dedicated formal training in medical education and to identify the factors that enable or hinder their ability to complete it.
DESIGN: A qualitative analysis of semi-structured interviews using the Framework Method.
SETTING: Virtual interviews conducted via Zoom within the United States.
PARTICIPANTS: General surgery residents and surgical faculty who were currently or recently enrolled in a health professions education graduate program and/or surgical education fellowship undertaken during dedicated, non-clinical time within an Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education-accredited general surgery residency program.
RESULTS: Eighteen participants completed interviews. Analysis generated 4 interrelated categories of factors: structural, interpersonal, personal, and symbolic (the SIPS framework), which shaped both why residents pursued education training and how they were able to do so. Decisions to pursue training were driven largely by personal and symbolic factors, including a longstanding passion for teaching, career aspirations, and the perceived legitimacy conferred by a formal degree. In contrast, the ability to complete training depended primarily on the more modifiable structural and interpersonal factors of funding, protected research time, program infrastructure, and high-quality mentorship. Participants frequently described navigating these pursuits without established pathways, attributing success in part to persistence, networking, and chance. Female participants, who comprised the majority of the sample, often described pursuing a degree to demonstrate competence relative to male peers.
CONCLUSIONS: Residents' ability to pursue medical education training is shaped most by the modifiable factors of program structure, mentorship, and funding. As interest in surgical education grows, programs should develop structured pathways, mentorship, and financial support to broaden access. Strengthening this pipeline may expand the community of well-trained surgical educators who advance surgical education and research.