Attrition in general surgery residency: can global and rural surgery shift the paradigm?

General surgery is one of the more popular career choices among medical students worldwide. An alarming one in five general surgery residents, however, abandon residency training-a rate that is much higher than most other medical and surgical specialities. We believe that additional measures are needed to decrease attrition and increase "grit" among house staff. Specifically, the diversification of the surgery training experience to include global and rural surgery may help mitigate burnout among surgical house staff.