title: The Future of General Surgery: Evolving to Meet a Changing Practice.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Similar to other countries, the practice of General Surgery in Canada has undergone significant evolution over the past 30 years without major changes to the training model. There is growing concern that current General Surgery residency training does not provide the skills required to practice the breadth of General Surgery in all Canadian communities and practice settings.
  
  
  METHODS
  Led by a national Task Force on the Future of General Surgery, this project aimed to develop recommendations on the optimal configuration of General Surgery training in Canada. A series of 4 evidence-based sub-studies and a national survey were launched to inform these recommendations.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Generalized findings from the multiple methods of the project speak to the complexity of the current practice of General Surgery: (1) General surgeons have very different practice patterns depending on the location of practice; (2) General Surgery training offers strong preparation for overall clinical competence; (3) Subspecialized training is a new reality for today's general surgeons; and (4) Generation of the report and recommendations for the future of General Surgery. A total of 4 key recommendations were developed to optimize General Surgery for the 21st century.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This project demonstrated that a high variability of practice dependent on location contrasts with the principles of implementing the same objectives of training for all General Surgery graduates. The overall results of the project have prompted the Royal College to review the training requirements and consider a more "fit for purpose" training scheme, thus ensuring that General Surgery residency training programs would optimally prepare residents for a broad range of practice settings and locations across Canada.
authors.affiliation: Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Eric M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Webber
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, University of British Columbia Faculty of Medicine, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
authors.forename: Ashley R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Ronson
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, University of British Columbia Faculty of Medicine, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
authors.forename: Lisa J
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Gorman
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, University of British Columbia Faculty of Medicine, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
authors.forename: Sarah A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Taber
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, University of British Columbia Faculty of Medicine, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Electronic address: kharris@royalcollege.ca.
authors.forename: Kenneth A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Harris
mesh_terms: D002170:Canada; D002321:Career Choice; D002983:Clinical Competence; D004503:Education, Medical, Graduate / Q000639:trends*; D005544:Forecasting; D013502:General Surgery / Q000193:education* / Q000639:trends*; D006801:Humans; D007396:Internship and Residency; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians' / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011365:Professional Practice Location; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: Medical Knowledge; Patient Care; Systems-Based Practice; general surgery; internship; residency training; surgical practice