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Competing Interests: Conflicts of Interest and Source of Funding: JAS is a member of the Data Monitoring Committee of the Medullary Thyroid Cancer Consortium Registry supported by Novo Nordisk, Astra Zeneca and Eli Lilly. Institutional research funding is received from Exelixis and Eli Lilly. HY is a medical consultant for Survivornet.

Objective: To describe public willingness to participate in regionalized surgical care for cancer., Summary of Background Data: Improved outcomes at high-volume centers following complex surgery have driven a push to regionalize surgical care. Patient attitudes toward regionalization are not well described., Methods: As part of the Cornell National Social Survey, a cross-sectional telephone survey was performed. Participants were asked about their willingness to seek regionalized care in a hypothetical scenario requiring surgery. Their responses were compared with demographic characteristics. A geospatial analysis of hospital proximity was performed, as well as a qualitative analysis of barriers to regionalization., Results: Cooperation rate was 48.1% with 1000 total respondents. They were an average of 50 years old (range 18 to 100 years) and 48.9% female. About 49.6% were unwilling to travel 5 hours or more to seek regionalized care for improved survival. Age >70 years [odds ratio (OR) 0.34, 95% confidence interval (95% CI) 0.19-0.60] and perceived distance to a center >30 minutes (OR 0.60, 95% CI 0.41-0.86) were associated with decreased willingness to seek regionalized care, while high income (OR 2.09, 95% CI 1.39-3.16) was associated with increased willingness. Proximity to a major center was not associated with willingness to travel (OR 0.92, 95% CI 0.67-1.22). Major perceived barriers to regionalization were transportation, life disruption, social support, socioeconomic resources, poor health, and remoteness., Conclusion: Americans are divided on whether the potential for improved survival with regionalization is worth the additional travel effort. Older age and lower income are associated with reduced willingness to seek regionalized care. Multiple barriers to regionalization exist, including a lack of knowledge of the location major centers.

Objective: We present 8-year follow-up data from the intern class of 2007 to 2008 using a novel, nonparametric predictive model to identify those residents who are at greatest risk of not completing their training., Background: Nearly 1 in every 4 categorical general surgery residents does not complete training. There has been no study at a national level to identify individual resident and programmatic factors that can be used to accurately anticipate which residents are most at risk of attrition out., Methods: A cross-sectional survey of categorical general surgery interns was conducted between June and August 2007. Intern data including demographics, attendance at US or Canadian medical school, proximity of family members, and presence of family members in medicine were de-identified and linked with American Board of Surgery data to determine residency completion and program characteristics. A Classification and Regression Tree analysis was performed to identify groups at greatest risk for non-completion., Results: Of 1048 interns, 870 completed the initial survey (response rate 83%), 836 of which had linkage data (96%). Also, 672 residents had evidence of completion of residency (noncompletion rate 20%). On Classification and Regression Tree analysis, sex was the independent factor most strongly associated with attrition. The lowest noncompletion rate for men was among interns at small community programs who were White, non-Hispanic, and married (6%). The lowest noncompletion rate for women was among interns training at smaller academic programs (11%)., Conclusions: This is the first longitudinal cohort study to identify factors at the start of training that put residents at risk for not completing training. Data from this study offer a method to identify interns at higher risk for attrition at the start of training, and next steps would be to create and test interventions in a directed fashion.

Objective: To determine if 5-year surgeon cumulative and annual volumes predict improved early postoperative outcomes in patients with rectal cancer., Background: Operative experience has been shown to effect surgical outcomes. The differential role of cumulative versus annual volume has not yet been explored for rectal surgery., Methods: The Statewide Planning and Research Cooperative System database was used to capture patients undergoing surgery in New York State from 2000 to 2013. A population-based sample of patients undergoing major rectal or rectosigmoid resection as their principal procedure during hospitalization between 2000 and 2013 were identified using International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification procedure codes. Surgeons were identified using a unique physician number from 1995 to 2013., Results: The percentage of surgeries performed by high cumulative/high annual (HC/HA) surgeons increased from 38.3% to 58.4% (P < 0.01) with a simultaneous decrease in that performed by low cumulative/low annual (LC/LA) surgeons (52.5% to 29.8%, P < 0.01). HC/HA volume surgeons had a significantly lower rate of surgical complications (odd ratio = 0.71, 95% confidence interval = 0.60-0.83, P < 0.05) as compared with LC/LA volume surgeons. There was no significant difference in rates of anastomotic leak, nonroutine discharges or readmission among all four groups., Conclusions: The best early postoperative surgical outcomes are achieved in centers where there are high cumulative and high annual volume surgeons caring for these patients. This suggests the need for specialized designation of rectal cancer centers to support ongoing regionalization of care.

Objective: To determine how race influences US general surgery residents' experiences during residency training., Background: Minorities are underrepresented in medicine, particularly surgery, with no large-scale studies investigating their training experiences., Methods: Cross-sectional national survey administered after the 2008 American Board of Surgery In-Training Examination to all categorical general surgery residents. Demographic characteristics and survey responses with respect to race were evaluated using the χ test and hierarchical logistic regression modeling., Results: A total of 4339 residents were included: 61.9% whites, 18.5% Asians, 8.5% Hispanics, 5.3% Blacks, and 5.8% Others. Minorities differed from whites in sex proportion, marital status, number of children, geographic location, type of residency program, and 24 survey items (all Ps < 0.05). Compared with white residents, Black, Asian, and Other residents were less likely to feel they fit in at their programs (86.2% vs 73.9%, 83.3%, and 81.2%, respectively; P < 0.001). Black and Asian residents were more likely to report that attendings would think worse of them if they asked for help (13.5% vs 20.4% and 18.4%, respectively; P = 0.002), and Black residents were less likely to feel they could count on their peers for help (85.2% vs 77.2%; P = 0.017). On hierarchical logistic regression modeling, Blacks were least likely to fit in at their programs (odds ratio = 0.6; P = 0.004), and all minorities were more likely to feel that there was a need for additional specialty training (odds ratio = 1.4 Blacks and Hispanics, 1.9 Asians, and 2.1 Others; all Ps ≤ 0.05)., Conclusions: Minority residents report less positively on program fit and relationships with faculty and peers. Future studies should focus on examining residency interventions to improve support and integration of minority residents.

Context: Thyroid disease is common, and thyroidectomy is a mainstay of treatment for many benign and malignant thyroid conditions. Overall, thyroidectomy is associated with favorable outcomes, particularly if experienced surgeons perform it., Objective: To examine racial differences in clinical and economic outcomes of patients undergoing thyroidectomy in the United States., Design, Setting, Patients: The nationwide inpatient sample was used to identify thyroidectomy admissions from 1999 to 2004, using ICD-9 procedure codes. Race and other clinical and demographic characteristics of patients were collected along with surgeon volume and hospital characteristics to predict outcomes., Main Outcome Measures: Inpatient mortality, complication rates, length of stay (LOS), discharge status, and mean total costs by racial group., Results: In 2003-2004, 16,878 patients underwent thyroid procedures; 71% were white, 14% black, 9% Hispanic, and 6% other. Mean LOS was longer for blacks (2.5 days) than for whites (1.8 days, P < 0.001); Hispanics had an intermediate LOS (2.2 days). Although rare, in-hospital mortality was higher for blacks (0.4%) compared with that for other races (0.1%, P < 0.001). Blacks trended toward higher overall complication rates (4.9%) compared with whites (3.8%) and Hispanics (3.6%, P = 0.056). Mean total costs were significantly lower for whites ($5447/patient) compared with those for blacks ($6587) and Hispanics ($6294). The majority of Hispanics (55%) and blacks (52%) had surgery by the lowest-volume surgeons (1-9 cases per year), compared with only 44% of whites. Highest-volume surgeons (>100 cases per year) performed 5% of thyroidectomies, but 90% of their patients were white (P < 0.001). Racial disparities in outcomes persist after adjustment for surgeon volume group., Conclusions: These findings suggest that, although thyroidectomy is considered safe, significant racial disparities exist in clinical and economic outcomes. In part, inequalities result from racial differences in access to experienced surgeons; more data are needed with regard to racial differences in thyroid biology and surveillance to explain the balance of observed disparities.