title: General practitioner surgery: anyone interested?
abstract: BACKGROUND
  We sought to assess awareness of, exposure to and interest in general practitioner (GP) surgery and enhanced surgical skills (ESS) among family practice residents in British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan.
  
  
  METHODS
  We distributed a survey to all family practice residents at 4 universities in BC, Alberta and Saskatchewan. The survey assessed demographic information, awareness of and exposure to GP surgery or ESS during training, and interest in pursuing formal ESS training.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We received 174 responses (27.2% response rate). Numerous respondents were unaware of GP surgery (9.9% ± 4.5%) and ESS (17.9% ± 5.7%). Awareness was higher among respondents from rural hometowns (GP surgery and ESS awareness 100% and 94.1%, respectively), and with prior exposure to GP surgery (GP surgery and ESS awareness 96.9% and 95.4%, respectively). A minority (38.2%) had been exposed to GP surgery, with exposure higher in respondents from rural training sites and in their second postgraduate year (72.5% and 47.4%, respectively). A quarter (25.1%) of respondents were considering ESS training. Factors encouraging training included increased procedures, challenging medicine and impact on patient outcomes. The importance of ESS training opportunities and service was rated highly.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Many respondents were unaware of ESS as a career option. Exposure to GP surgery during training was associated with increased awareness. Furthermore, exposure fostered interest in this important field. These results may be helpful in the development of formal ESS training programs and in curricula for family practice residency programs.
authors.affiliation: Department of Family Practice, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC.
authors.forename: Amber A P
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Bacenas
authors.affiliation: Department of Family Practice, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC.
authors.forename: Chelsey A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Ricketts
authors.affiliation: Sauder School of Business, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC.
authors.forename: Jonathan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Berkowitz
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC.
authors.forename: Nadine R
authors.initials: NR
authors.lastname: Caron
mesh_terms: D000416:Alberta; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D001955:British Columbia; D005194:Family Practice / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D013502:General Surgery / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006780:Hospitals, Rural / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D007318:Inservice Training / Q000379:methods*; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians' / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D019035:Rural Health Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012525:Saskatchewan; D013514:Surgical Procedures, Operative / Q000193:education* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data