Resident Behaviours to Prioritize According to Canadian Plastic Surgeons

Abstract

Introduction: Many articles have been published outlining the resident selection process for plastic surgery training programs. However, which qualities Canadian plastic surgeons value most in their current residents remains unclear. A national survey study was conducted to identify which attributes surgeons associate with the highest resident performance and which behaviours trainees should prioritize during their training.

Methods: A literature review was performed to identify studies that documented attributes valued in plastic surgery applicants and characteristics of high-performing surgical residents. These qualities were extracted to construct a survey consisting of both ranking and open-ended questions. After an iterative review process, the survey was disseminated nationally to consultants and trainees of Canadian plastic surgery training programs.

Results: Survey responses were obtained from 120 invitees and a weighted rank was calculated for each evaluated attribute. The terms integrity, professional, and work ethic were viewed as the most important attributes prized by surgeons. Dishonesty, lack of dependability, and unprofessionalism were viewed as the most concerning behaviours. Additionally, disinterest and arrogance were identified by the open-ended questions as behaviours surgeons would like to see less frequently in their trainees. When compared to surgeons, trainees undervalued the importance of knowledge and the impact of unprofessional behaviour.

Conclusions: With the multiple roles that a resident must fulfill, understanding which attributes are of the most importance will help focus self-directed learning and development within residency programs. Ultimately, instilling the importance of integrity and professionalism is most highly valued by members of the Canadian plastic surgery community.

Keywords: clinical competence; education; internship and residency; plastic; professionalism; surgery.

Figure 1.

Positive resident attributes ranked by importance within the plastic surgery training community. Survey responders ranked a list of 10 terms from most to least priority. A mean rank position was calculated for each term based on the ranked positions obtained from each survey respondent, with a higher average indicating a term of greater importance. Error bars depict the standard deviation for each mean rank position.

Figure 2.

Negative resident attributes ranked by importance within the plastic surgery training community. Survey responders ranked a list of 10 terms from most to least concerning. A mean ranked position was calculated for each term based on the ranked positions obtained from each survey respondent, with a higher average indicating a term of greater negativity. Error bars depict the standard deviation for each mean rank position.

Figure 3.

Plastic surgery consultant and trainee comparison of positive resident attributes ranked by importance. From the survey respondents, resident attributes were ranked by order of importance by plastic surgery consultants and trainees. Differences in rank position for each term between trainees and consultants is visually displayed by discrepancies between the 2 lines.

Figure 4.

Plastic surgery consultant and trainee comparison of negative resident attributes ranked by importance. From the survey respondents, resident attributes were ranked by order of importance by plastic surgery consultants and trainees. Differences in rank position for each term between trainees and consultants is visually displayed by discrepancies between the 2 lines.

Figure 5.

Responses with highest representation obtained from the open-ended questions about resident behaviours. Three questions were included within the survey providing respondents with the ability to explain on behaviours they would like to see residents do more often, do less often, and behaviours to start doing. These responses were grouped by comment themes and the 4 most common themes from each question represented within the graph.