Preparing surgeons for rural Australia: the RACS Rural Surgical Training Program.

BACKGROUND: The Royal Australasian College of Surgeons' Rural Surgical Training Program (RSTP) ran from 1996 to 2007. As a formal review of the RSTP had never occurred, it remained unknown whether the RSTP had achieved its objectives of training surgeons for and retaining them in practice in rural Australia. METHODS: Sixty-six RSTP fellows and 67 general surgery fellows were asked to complete a survey evaluating factors influencing the decision to pursue a rural surgical career, the influence of the RSTP on subsequent career pathways and the adequacy of the RSTP in preparing its trainees for rural work. RESULTS: Fifty-one out of 66 RSTP fellows were noted to be in practice in metropolitan Australia, with only 15 in rural Australia. Responses obtained revealed rural surgical rotations during training as a major influence in the decision to perform rural work. Thirty out of 35 RSTP participants stated that the RSTP did not influence their subsequent careers. Six out of 15 RSTP respondents responded positively when asked about the adequacy of the RSTP in preparing its trainees for rural work. CONCLUSION: The RSTP largely succeeded in preparing its trainees for rural work, but did not succeed in retaining the majority of its trainees in practice in rural Australia. It appears that targeting doctors at the point of admission to surgical training, in the hope that this would translate into more rural surgeons, did not result in improved retention in rural areas.