Letting surgeons work part-time instead of losing them to retirement or burnout would reduce surgeon shortages, according to a Journal of American College of Surgeons study.

More than 12,000 surgeons would be added to the workforce by 2030 if three-fourths of the physicians who would have otherwise left the field continue to operate part-time for an additional 10 years, notes the study.

Younger physicians - particularly female surgeons who take time off to raise a family - reportedly aren't as interested in working the long hours logged by their predecessors. Giving surgeons in their 20s and 30s more flexible work schedules might keep them in the OR for many more years than current trends indicate, according to the research.

Giving older surgeons the same option would do the same. The ACS reports that nearly 43% of surgeons 50 years of age or older who were surveyed by the Association of American Medical Colleges said they'd work past retirement age if given the option to work part-time. Part-time male and female surgeons worked 17 hours and 21 hours a week respectively, according to the survey.

Healthcare workforce trends are rapidly changing, says study co-author Bhagwan Satiani, MD, MBA, FACS, a vascular surgeon and professor of clinical surgery at the Ohio State University Medical Center. Surgeons are working less and leaving the profession sooner, making it difficult to address the current surgeon shortage, he explains. But, he adds, "Efficient part-time employment models can begin reducing shortages almost immediately."

Daniel Cook