The job market for HPB surgeons: leadership perspectives on surgeon skillsets, training pathways, and hiring

• DOI: 10.1016/j.hpb.2022.09.017
• Publication Date: 2022-10-03T06:59:21Z
• Authors: Dorothy Hughes; Fernanda Romero H...; Phoebe Miller; Susanne Warner; Michele Babicky; Brendan Visser; Adnan Alseidi; Jin He; Erin C. Maynard; Nitin Katariya; Kimberly Washington; Chad G. Ball; Carol-Anne Moulton
• Keywords: Surgeons; 03 medical and health sciences; 0302 clinical medicine; Education, Medical, Graduate; Humans; Internship and Residency; Fellowships and Scholarships; Digestive System Surgical Procedures; 3. Good health

Three tracks prepare Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary (HPB) surgeons: HPB, surgical oncology, and transplant fellowships. This study explored how surgical leaders thought about HPB surgery and evaluated potential candidates for HPB positions.This descriptive qualitative study utilized interviews of healthcare leaders whose responsibilities included hiring HPB surgeons. We coded inductively then used thematic network analysis to organize the data. Individual codes formed basic themes, then larger secondary themes, then finally "primary" themes.Primary themes were: (1) What defines an HPB surgical practice?, (2) How do they assess candidates for HPB positions?, and (3) How will HPB practices continue to evolve? Leaders assessed applicants' training, behaviors and cultural fit, technical excellence, and more. Personal recommendations and professional networks significantly influenced the hiring process. HPB surgery needs were growing due to population changes, treatments advances, and changing market conditions.Surgical societies should focus on facilitating networking, promoting transparency, sharing quality data, providing evidence of technical skills and teamwork, mentorship, and providing guidance to general surgery residency program directors. There is great interest in unification and cooperation across the profession, protocol standardization enhancing quality, continued workforce diversification, and evaluation of the alignment between training and practice.