Abstract Background Since its inception, surgical oncology training has emphasized the treatment of complex tumors without restriction to a specific anatomic region. As the complexity of cancer care increases, it is unclear whether this broad-based training model remains optimal. We set out to characterize how fellowship prepares graduates for clinical practice and to identify trends in surgical oncology training and practice. Methods A 24-item survey was sent to graduates of an academic surgical oncology training program between the years 1981 and 2022. Questions focused on preparedness for practice upon graduation, current clinical and non-clinical activities, and the evolution of respondents’ practice since completion of fellowship. Results Respondents indicated that they felt generally well prepared to treat a wide range of malignancies. Post-2013 graduates, felt significantly better prepared to treat peritoneal surface and gynecologic malignancies and to perform robotic surgery. In contrast, pre-2013 graduates indicated greater preparedness for the treatment of melanoma, extremity sarcoma, head and neck, esophageal and thoracic malignancies (p 0.05). Respondents practiced broadly, treating a median of 5 disease sites, although 36% dedicated more than half of their time to a single site. Despite the lack of formalized leadership training, 40.9% of graduates were involved in leadership positions. Conclusions Our findings confirm that the existing surgical oncology training positions trainees well for practice, even in a landscape with many partially overlapping and competing surgical fellowships. In addition, many graduates are engaged in administrative and leadership roles suggesting that surgical oncologists may benefit from formalized leadership training during fellowship.
Scott et al. (Thu,) studied this question.