Rural surgery call coverage: Innovative locoregional solutions can fill the gap

摘要

Providing surgical call coverage in rural areas of the U.S. and Canada is a constant struggle. With many small hospitals being covered by only one or two surgeons, issues related to lack of time for family and the inability to take time away from practice to learn new techniques leads to burnout and early retirement or an exodus to larger areas offering the opportunity for potentially better positions. The pool of rural surgeons is already at a crisis level, with many hospitals losing the capability to offer surgical services when their surgeon leaves or retires. Statistics also show that too few trainees will be available to fill these positions.