title: Attitudes and Perceptions of Surgical Oncology Fellows on ACGME Accreditation and the Complex General Surgical Oncology Certification.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  With the first qualifying examination administered September 15, 2014, complex general surgical oncology (CGSO) is now a board-certified specialty. We aimed to assess the attitudes and perceptions of current and future surgical oncology fellows regarding the recently instituted Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) accreditation.
  
  
  METHODS
  A 29-question anonymous survey was distributed to fellows in surgical oncology fellowship programs and applicants interviewing at our fellowship program.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There were 110 responses (79 fellows and 31 candidates). The response rate for the first- and second-year fellows was 66 %. Ninety-percent of the respondents were aware that completing an ACGME-accredited fellowship leads to board eligibility in CGSO. However, the majority (80 %) of the respondents stated that their decision to specialize in surgical oncology was not influenced by the ACGME accreditation. The fellows in training were concerned about the cost of the exam (90 %) and expressed anxiety in preparing for another board exam (83 %). However, the majority of the respondents believed that CGSO board certification will be helpful (79 %) in obtaining their future career goals. Interestingly, candidate fellows appeared more focused on a career in general complex surgical oncology (p = 0.004), highlighting the impact that fellowship training may have on organ-specific subspecialization.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The majority of the surveyed surgical oncology fellows and candidates believe that obtaining board certification in CGSO is important and will help them pursue their career goals. However, the decision to specialize in surgical oncology does not appear to be motivated by ACGME accreditation or the new board certification.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgical Oncology, The John Wayne Cancer Institute at Providence St. John's Health Center, Santa Monica, CA, USA.
authors.forename: David Y
authors.initials: DY
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgical Oncology, The John Wayne Cancer Institute at Providence St. John's Health Center, Santa Monica, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Devin C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Flaherty
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgical Oncology, The John Wayne Cancer Institute at Providence St. John's Health Center, Santa Monica, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Briana J
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Lau
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgical Oncology, The John Wayne Cancer Institute at Providence St. John's Health Center, Santa Monica, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Gary B
authors.initials: GB
authors.lastname: Deutsch
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgical Oncology, The John Wayne Cancer Institute at Providence St. John's Health Center, Santa Monica, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Daniel D
authors.initials: DD
authors.lastname: Kirchoff
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgical Oncology, The John Wayne Cancer Institute at Providence St. John's Health Center, Santa Monica, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Kelly T
authors.initials: KT
authors.lastname: Huynh
authors.affiliation: Department of Biostatistics, The John Wayne Cancer Institute at Providence St. John's Health Center, Santa Monica, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Ji-Hey
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgical Oncology, The John Wayne Cancer Institute at Providence St. John's Health Center, Santa Monica, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Mark B
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Faries
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgical Oncology, The John Wayne Cancer Institute at Providence St. John's Health Center, Santa Monica, CA, USA. bilchika@jwci.org.
authors.forename: Anton J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Bilchik
mesh_terms: D000068:Accreditation; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D002321:Career Choice; D002568:Certification; D004521:Educational Measurement / Q000191:economics; D005257:Fellowships and Scholarships / Q000592:standards*; D005260:Female; D013502:General Surgery / Q000592:standards*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000601:surgery*; D010465:Perception; D013038:Specialization / Q000592:standards*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires