Briefing

Of 88 surgical residents in the last 15 years at New York's Mt Sinai Hospital, 19 (22%) dropped out. (Am J Surgery 1998;175:236-9). Academic performance was no predictor, though more women than men left, citing life style factors and disillusionment with surgery as the main reasons. The authors conclude with a wish to improve their ability to identify potential dropouts before “the match,” though curiously do not discuss any contributing institutional factors.