Volume 11, Issue 3 (2016) Rural Surgery Training Programs in the United States: A Review of the Literature

Introduction

General surgery is an integral part of primary care especially in rural areas along with family physicians, general internists and pediatricians. In many areas, general surgeons may provide primary care especially where medical care is insufficient and providers are scant. Rural surgery training programs are a mechanism to attract more medical students to general surgery residencies, more graduating chief general surgery residents to private practice in rural communities, improve the case numbers and confidence of graduating surgery residents, and improve the overall quality of surgical care.