[Foreign research position in the career development of academic surgeons]

Since there are no data concerning the results/efficiency of research stipends in foreign countries, the aim of this study was to analyze the experience of German surgeons doing research work abroad. Seventy-four fellows (residents) in surgical training who conducted research outside Germany between 1986 and 1995 were interviewed using a detailed questionnaire. Back in Germany, the results and experience gained from research abroad led in the majority of cases to a PhD degree ("habilitation"), a high number of publications, and intensified research efforts in the same field using the methods learned abroad. In Germany, better support for researchers in terms of better clinical and scientific perspectives is urgently needed according to numerous comments.