Leadership in General Surgery Residency: The Impact as Seen by Former Program Directors

Objective: The position of general surgery residency program director (GSPD) has been well defined by governing bodies as an important educational role. Its impact on the individuals themselves has not been studied extensively. We aimed to examine the individual and professional impact of the role of GSPDs as seen by former program directors of general surgery residency programs.

Design: This Institutional Review Board (IRB) exempt study conducted semi structured virtual interviews from May- September 2023 with former GSPDs. The research team consisted of 5 members who transcribed the interviews, coded the responses, and conducted a thematic analysis in an iterative consensus process. Final themes and subthemes were generated and representative quotes were selected.

Setting: This study was conducted virtually at Wellspan York Hospital in York, Pennsylvania, a level-1 trauma center and community teaching hospital.

Participants: A total of 19 former GSPDs were recruited via purposeful sampling and snowballing. All 19 participants completed the study interview.

Results: GSPD responses were found to have 5 recurring themes and several subthemes. The themes included 1) Development as a leader, 2) Relationship building, 3) Proficiencies needed as a program director, 4) Transactional aspects, 5) Transformational aspects.

Conclusion: Leading a general surgery residency program is an extremely impactful position that develops pivotal leadership skills, requires many proficiencies, relies on relationship building, and has aspects that are transactional and transformational. Holding the position of program director creates both personal fulfillment while 1 holds the position and has a positive professional impact in the subsequent stages of their career as a surgical educator.