Challenges and satisfaction in Cardiothoracic Surgery Residency Programmes: insights from a Europe-wide survey

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Surgical Training
• Cardiothoracic Surgery

Background:

• Surgical training faces challenges due to patient complexity and time constraints.
• The European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery Residents' Committee addresses these training issues.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate resident satisfaction with current cardiothoracic surgery training programs across Europe.
• To identify factors influencing trainee satisfaction and areas for program improvement.

Main Methods:

• An online survey was distributed to 219 participants from 24 European countries.
• Data collection occurred between October 2018 and April 2019, covering training structure, working hours, and satisfaction levels.

Main Results:

• Trainees work an average of 61 hours/week, with only 19.7% confirming European Working Time Directive implementation.
• Despite average satisfaction scores of 7.9/10, 56.2% were not satisfied with training opportunities.
• Satisfaction correlated with skills evaluation, first operator experience, and protected research time.

Conclusions:

• Significant disparities exist in cardiothoracic surgery training quality and structure across Europe.
• Improvements needed in structured feedback, research time, and working hour compliance.
• Developing European guidelines for training standards is recommended to enhance surgical education.