A critical view on the surgical training

An inquiry set up in the Flemish- and French-speaking parts of Belgium, shows some deficiencies in surgical training. The training of a general surgeon should not take longer than six years. The first four years should consist in a general training in surgery, the last two years being used for the subspecialization. At the beginning of each year, the trainees should be provided with a list of the operations to be performed by the training surgeon. Each hospital, where the training of surgeons is performed, should have a list of its routine operations. An examination is useful: however this should not be the only way to evaluate a trainee. Lectures during working hours are preferable to those given in the evenings. The residents should be allowed to go off duty after a night on duty, this is already standard practice in several European countries. An independent visitation committee, evaluating the departments, their heads and the resident trainees is needed.