Putting a price on education: hours and dollars for a general surgery curriculum

Background: In 2005, a new curricular model was implemented for general surgery residents and a Division of Education created for administrative support. These changes forced an evaluation of available resources to maintain a new curricular model. Methods: A retrospective review of resources expended during curricular sessions (June 2007-June 2008) provided to 42 surgical residents was conducted. Resources were evaluated in terms of the number, division, department, and rank of faculty involved. Contact hours and monetary costs were calculated. Results: Total numbers of faculty involved in the postgraduate year (PGY)1, PGY2, and PGY3-5 curriculums were 79, 39, and 22, respectively. Faculty teaching time was 321 hours (PGY1), 187 hours (PGY2) and 36 hours (PGY3-5) for a combined 544 hours. Average teaching time commitment for faculty in the Division of Education was 26.5 hours, compared with 6.7 hours for departmental faculty in other divisions (P = .0002). Total monetary cost was $219,254. Conclusions: The cost to maintain an educational general surgery curriculum is substantial and administrative support must be considered. Faculty with an explicit teaching commitment and responsibility are needed.