Academic Journal
A national assessment of the pediatric surgery workforce and practice structure in the United States.
| Τίτλος: | A national assessment of the pediatric surgery workforce and practice structure in the United States. |
|---|---|
| Συγγραφείς: | Gow KW; Division of Pediatric Surgery, Stony Brook University Hospital, 101 Nicolls Road, Stony Brook, NY 11794, USA. Electronic address: kenneth.gow@stonybrookmedicine.edu., Martin AE; 324 Colony Blvd, Lexington, KY 40502, USA. Electronic address: aemartin55@hotmail.com., Jang SG; School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794, USA. Electronic address: sunggheel.jang@stonybrook.edu., Greene AC; Department of Surgery, Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, 500 University Drive, Hershey, PA 17033, USA. Electronic address: agreene6@pennstatehealth.psu.edu., Vu MT; Expeditionary Medical Facility 150 Mike, Naval Hospital Jacksonville, 2080 Child St., Jacksonville, FL 32214, USA. Electronic address: megan.t.vu.mil@health.mil., Hamilton NA; Peacehealth RiverBend, 3333 RiverBend Dr., Springfield, OR 97477, USA. Electronic address: nicham1@peacehealth.org., Ladd MR; Department of Surgery, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, 1 Medical Center Blvd, Winston-Salem, NC 27157, USA. Electronic address: Mitchell.Ladd@wfusm.edu., Lotakis DM; Indiana University, Riley Hospital for Children, 705 Riley Hospital Drive, Indianapolis, IN 46201, USA. Electronic address: dlotakis@iu.edu., Robie DK; Dayton Children's Hospital, One Children's Plaza, Dayton, OH 45404, USA. Electronic address: mykidssurgeon@gmail.com., Romain C; University of Chicago, 5839 S. Maryland Ave., Chicago, IL 60637, USA. Electronic address: cromain@bsd.uchicago.edu., Edwards MJ; Albany Medical College, Albany, NY 12208, USA. Electronic address: maryjbar@gmail.com., Kennedy AP Jr; Janet Weis Children's Hospital, Geisinger Health System, 100 N Academy Ave, Danville, PA 17822, USA. Electronic address: apkennedy@geisinger.edu., Zagory JA; Division of Pediatric Surgery, LSU Health, 200 Henry Clay Avenue, New Orleans, LA 70118, USA. Electronic address: j.a.zagory@gmail.com., Sutyak KM; University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE 68198, USA. Electronic address: Krysta.sutyak@unmc.edu., Fallat ME; Department of Surgery, University of Louisville School of Medicine, Norton Children's Hospital, 315 E Broadway, Suite 565, Louisville, KY 40202, USA. Electronic address: mefall01@louisville.edu., Zeug A; ThedaCare, 100 Theda Clark Plaza, Suite 400, Neenah, WI 54956, USA. Electronic address: annie.zeug@thedacare.org., Chandler NM; Division of Pediatric Surgery, Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital, 501 6th Street South, Saint Petersburg, FL 33705, USA. Electronic address: Nicole.chandler@jhmi.edu., Badru FO; CAMC Pediatric Surgery, Vandalia Health, 830 Pennsylvania Ave., Suite 202, Charleston, WV 25302, USA. Electronic address: faidahbadru@yahoo.com., Wadie G; Carolina Pediatric Surgery, 400 Asheville Ave., Suite 200 B, Cary, NC 27518, USA. Electronic address: geowadie2002@yahoo.com., Iocono J; Department of Surgery, Akron Children's Hospital, 215 West Bowery St., 6th Floor, Akron, OH 44308, USA. Electronic address: Jiocono@akronchildrens.org., Wolf LL; University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Arkansas Children's Hospital, Little Rock, AR 72022, USA. Electronic address: llwolf@uams.edu., Purcell LN; Division of Pediatric Surgery, UT Southwestern Medical Center, 5323 Harry Hines Blvd., Dallas, TX 75390, USA. Electronic address: laura.purcell@utsouthwestern.edu., Browne M; Division of Pediatric Surgery, Lehigh Valley Health Network, 1210 S Cedar Crest Blvd Suite 1100, Allentown, PA 18103, USA. Electronic address: marybeth.browne@jefferson.edu., Bonasso PC 2nd; WVU Medicine Golisano Children's Hospital, 1 Medical Center Drive, Morgantown, WV 26506, USA. Electronic address: Patrick.bonasso@hsc.wvu.edu., Prasad R; St. Luke's Children's Hospital, 701 Ostrum Street, Suite 102, Bethlehem, PA, 18015, USA. Electronic address: rajeevprasadmd@gmail.com., Alaish SM; Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA. Electronic address: Salaish1@jhmi.edu., Ricca R; Division of Pediatric Surgery, 500 University Drive, Hershey, PA, 17033, USA. Electronic address: rricca@pennstatehealth.psu.edu., DeRoss AL; Division of Pediatric General Surgery, Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine, Cleveland Clinic, 9500 Euclid Avenue, R3, Cleveland, OH 44195, USA. Electronic address: derossa@ccf.org. |
| Πηγή: | Journal of pediatric surgery [J Pediatr Surg] 2026 Jul 16, pp. 163289. Date of Electronic Publication: 2026 Jul 16. |
| Publication Model: | Ahead of Print |
| Τύπος έκδοσης: | Journal Article |
| Γλώσσα: | English |
| Στοιχεία περιοδικού: | Publisher: Saunders Country of Publication: United States NLM ID: 0052631 Publication Model: Print-Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1531-5037 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 00223468 NLM ISO Abbreviation: J Pediatr Surg Subsets: MEDLINE |
| Imprint Name(s): | Publication: Philadelphia, PA : Saunders Original Publication: New York. |
| Περίληψη: | Purpose: Pediatric general surgeons provide essential specialized care for children, yet the structure, geographic distribution, and access implications of U.S. pediatric surgery practices remain incompletely characterized. This study presents a national assessment of the pediatric surgery workforce, examining practice composition, resources, and the complementary roles of fellowship-associated (FA) and non-fellowship-associated (NFA) practices in delivering care. Methods: Individual pediatric surgical practices were identified through multiple sources, including the American Pediatric Surgical Association membership directory. Practices were contacted to obtain data on surgeon composition, advanced practice provider (APP) utilization, locum tenens (LT) use, and the number of hospitals, clinics, consultation sites, and operating locations covered as of July 31, 2025. Practice locations were geocoded by zip code. Workforce distribution was compared with 2020 U.S. Census data on the pediatric population to calculate children-per-surgeon ratios by state. Travel distance modeling assessed access to care with FA practices alone and with NFA practices added. Data are presented as medians [interquartile range]. Results: A total of 248 practices employing 1191 pediatric surgeons were identified across all states and the District of Columbia. Practice size varied widely (median 3.5 [2.0-6.0] surgeons). APPs were employed in 79% of practices, while 24% relied on LT coverage. State-level child-to-surgeon ratios showed substantial variability, with nearly half of the states having ratios that were either lower or higher than expected. Fifty-two practices (21%) were FA, and 196 (79%) were NFA. FA practices had significantly more surgeons, greater APP support, and broader institutional coverage across hospitals, clinics, and operating sites (all p < 0.0001). NFA practices, however, were more widely distributed geographically. Access modeling showed that including NFA practices reduced median travel distances for families by more than 50% and cut the share of children living more than 60 miles from surgical care from 43% to 13%, affecting approximately 32 million versus 5 million children. Conclusion: The U.S. pediatric surgery workforce comprises diverse practice models with distinct but complementary strengths. FA practices provide infrastructure-intensive care, while NFA practices substantially expand geographic access. Together, they form an interdependent national network critical to equitable pediatric surgical care. These findings provide essential data to inform workforce planning, policy initiatives, and strategies to preserve timely access to surgery for children. (Copyright © 2026 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.) |
| Contributed Indexing: | Keywords: Access; Mapping; Pediatric; Surgery; Training; Workforce |
| Entry Date(s): | Date Created: 20260716 Latest Revision: 20260727 |
| Update Code: | 20260728 |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.jpedsurg.2026.163289 |
| PMID: | 42462998 |
| Βάση Δεδομένων: | MEDLINE |
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