A SURGICAL SUBSPECIALIST ENHANCES GENERAL SURGICAL OPERATIVE EXPERIENCE

Objective: To examine the impact of a surgical subspecialist on reside nts' operative experience in a mature general surgery training program . Methods: American Board of Surgery operative experience records were used to examine the impact of a surgical subspecialist on surgical tr aining in a stable residency program. Operations performed as surgeon by residents in their chief and junior years were analyzed 4 years bef ore and 4 years after the addition of this subspecialist to the facult y. Hospital admissions for Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis duri ng these periods were analyzed as well. Results: There was a statistic ally significant increase in the number of ileal pouch anal anastomose s, ileostomies, small-bowel resections, partial colectomies, and coloa nal anastomoses performed by surgical residents after the addition of a colorectal surgical subspecialist. Conclusions: Subspecialty faculty may favorably influence general surgical training by increasing resid ent operative experience and patient management skills with procedures characteristic of the subspecialty.