Do Men and Women Use the Same Criteria in Selecting a General Surgery Residency Program? Results of a 20-Year Study in a Non-University Program

Background To assess applicant preferences in general surgery program selection, we surveyed current and former residents of our non-university general surgery residency program over the last 20 years, with particular emphasis on male and female selection preferences.Methods Surveys were distributed to current and former categorical residents. Respondents were asked to rate 25 residency criteria using a Likert scale. Responses by males and females were compared using the Mann-Whitney U-test. Results are reported as mean scores, with p-values indicating statistical significance of trends toward higher scores.Results Of 50 former (76% male, 24% female) and 18 current residents (56% male, 44% female), 56 responded (38 male, 18 female), for an overall response rate of 82%. For both male and female respondents, the top 4 selection criteria by mean average score were identical: variety and number of cases, friendly training environment, camaraderie among residents, and quality of relationships with attendings. Selection criteria that received significantly higher scores among women were camaraderie among residents, the number of female residents, and the number of female attendings (p Conclusions The most important selection criteria, regardless of gender, relate to operative experience, training environment, and quality relationships. Gender-based preferences seem to play only a minor role in general surgery program selection.