Real-world challenges to general surgery resident leadership development: a needs assessment

Purpose Formal leadership curricula are not commonly incorporated into general surgery residency training. The aims of this study are to delineate challenges and barriers for leadership development during training to help guide future leadership curricula within general surgery. Methods All general surgery residents at a single academic health center in the western United States were eligible to participate. The study collection method involved one hour virtual focus groups. Data analysis was performed based using processes employed in constructivist grounded theory. Results A total of 34 residents were interviewed. Thematic analysis yielded five challenges of becoming an effective leader: (1) Cultural, (2) Individual, (3) Career/Structural aspects of residency, (4) Faculty, and (5) Lack of training. Based on these findings, a framework for future leadership curricula was described. Conclusions The identification of these challenges and potential framework to include in future leadership curricula can help surgical educators to develop the next generation of surgical leaders.