Table 1. Demographic Charateristics of Survey Respondents Who Are Actively Practicing US Fellows of the American College of Surgeons (2018)a.
| Charateristic | Respondents, No./total No. (%) | |
|---|---|---|
| Academic surgeons (n = 1735)b | Private practice surgeons (n = 1464)b | |
| Age, median (IQR), y | 53 (44-61) | 56 (48-62) |
| Men | 1390/1735 (80) | 1276/1463 (87) |
| Years in training, median (IQR) | 7 (5-8) | 6 (5-7) |
| ≥1 y Dedicated research time during training | 951/1723 (55) | 408/1463 (28) |
| Years practicing surgery, median (IQR) | 18 (10-27) | 22 (15-29) |
| Practice location | ||
| Urbanc | 1664/1711 (96) | 1342/1439 (91) |
| Ruralc | 71/1711 (4) | 122/1439 (9) |
| >1 y Specialty trainingd | 1460/1712 (85) | 888/1409 (63) |
| General surgery (no specialty training)d | 253/1712 (15) | 520/1409 (37) |
| Specific specialty traininge | ||
| Acute care surgery | 48/1735 (3) | 20/1464 (1) |
| Breast | 38/1735 (2) | 16/1464 (1) |
| Burn | 27/1735 (2) | 21/1464 (1) |
| Cardiothoracic | 148/1735 (9) | 86/1464 (5) |
| Critical care | 303/1735 (17) | 79/1464 (5) |
| Colorectal | 116/1735 (7) | 105/1464 (7) |
| Endocrine | 28/1735 (2) | 18/1464 (1) |
| Hepatobiliary | 57/1735 (3) | 17/1464 (1) |
| Minimally invasive surgery | 110/1735 (6) | 76/1464 (5) |
| Surgical oncology | 168/1735 (10) | 51/1464 (3) |
| Pediatric surgery | 192/1735 (11) | 43/1464 (3) |
| Plastic | 46/1735 (3) | 82/1464 (6) |
| Transplant | 115/1735 (7) | 28/1464 (2) |
| Trauma | 159/1735 (9) | 51/1464 (3) |
| Vascular | 192/1735 (11) | 220/1464 (15) |
Abbreviation: IQR, interquartile range.
Results weighted to account for potential nonresponse bias.
Practice type was reported by respondents (“Are you currently primarily in a private practice setting?” and “Do you currently hold a medical school faculty appointment”); respondents who answered no to both questions were excluded. Respondents who answered yes to both questions were considered to be in a private practice setting.
Practice location determined using US 2013 Rural-Urban continuum codes.12 Rural-Urban continuum codes considered metropolitan (codes 1-3) were classified as urban, while codes considered nonmetropolitan (codes 4-9) were classified as rural.
Surgeons were considered subspecialty if they completed an integrated residency program in cardiothoracic, vascular, or plastic surgery or reported completing at least 1 year of additional subspecialty fellowship training after general surgery.
Surgeons were allowed to report more than 1 specialty. Percentage given represents the proportion of all surgeons of academic or private practice type.