[No 'connecting year' in the medical curriculum]

The step from house-man to residency is a large one. The medical curricula at the universities of Leiden and Utrecht have started a project called the 'schakeljaar' (connecting year). Such a connecting year is intended to make the transition smoother and may have the added advantage that one can start the postgraduate training more quickly. However, there are some critical remarks that can be made here. First of all, there does not seem to be such a major difference between the doctor that one becomes during the connecting year and the currently common optional houseman or eldest houseman. Secondly, it is questionable whether one can really start the postgraduate training more quickly. The capacity of the postgraduate training programmes is limited. Thirdly, relatively little time can be saved in the basic medical curriculum.