Attending Surgeons as Teachers: What the Residents Want.

RESULTS: 148 survey responses were obtained. 66% of respondents were male, and 33% female. 86% were from integrated programs. 60% were PGY level 1-4, while 40% were senior residents or fellows. 74% of respondents prefer teaching faculty to be flexible based on resident input and intraoperative events when planning for a surgical case. While 82% prefer informal didactic teaching, with a clear separation of teacher from student, 72% prefer interaction outside of teaching sessions or cases to be casual with some career focus. Overall, females prefer a more casual teaching environment, but desire a greater patient-focused approach in the operating room versus residentbenefit. Male residents and those planning to enter private practice, on the other hand, favor an operative approach focused more on resident benefit. The most important skills residents want to learn from teachers are: clinical judgment, operative technique, and clinical diagnostic skills. Abilities in grant and manuscript writing, basic laboratory skills, and bedside manner were of less value. Reputation, research background, and national connections are the most highly valued professional characteristics, while practice type, years in practice, and gender are of less importance. Approachability and teaching style ranked highly among residents as important personal qualities in a teacher, and females found approachability a more valuable characteristic than did males.