Redefining Surgery: Development of the Surgery Recruitment Video
The evolution of surgery training has forced us to ask students to make major career decisions regarding specialty choice far earlier during their education than in the past. To address this issue, the surgery recruitment video project was conceived to attract the brightest students to an overriding commitment to surgery and its clinical, scientific, and educational pursuits. This project started with the Association for Academic Surgery and received endorsement from the Society of University Surgeons, Association for Program Directors in Surgery, and the American College of Surgeons. The purpose was to provide an honest and contemporary documentary of surgery as a rewarding career – with cutting–edge technological advances, clinical and basic/translational research opportunities, a commitment to education and mentoring, and a priority on diversity and work-life balance. Surgeons representing the full spectrum of the field – senior surgeons, junior faculty, trainees and students; academic practice and community practice; all subspecialties; and a range of gender and ethnicity – were interviewed to openly discuss these important issues. The end product is an interactive DVD with chapters on “Why Surgery?”, Surgical Education, Academics and Research, Diversity in Surgery, The Surgical Life, and The Future of Surgery. “Redefining Surgery” is now available both on DVD and as online streaming video, and an extended podcast series is in development. Social networking has also been established to provide additional resources and content, to foster live discussion relevant to surgical career decision-making, and to provide a widespread network of mentorship for students seeking advice and support for their surgical career goals.
The video was produced by Dr. Peter Nelson. The project was supported by the American College of Surgeons, the Association for Academic Surgery, the Society of University Surgeons, and the Association of Program Directors in Surgery.
To view more clips from this video project, please go to the redefiningsurgery YouTube channel »