Acquisition of diagnostic and surgical skills in otorhinolaryngology: a comparison of France and Germany

With the coalescing of the European countries, among many others, official initiatives have been launched to propose minimum requirements for Otolaryngology, Head and Neck surgery (ORL) specialty training by creating an European log book. This study was initiated to assess and compare the acquisition of basic medical key diagnostic and surgical skills by residents and recent ORL specialists in France (FRA) and Germany (GER) and to determine whether gender-specific differences exist. For this, an anonymous questionnaire with questions to basic medical, diagnostic and surgical procedures specific to ORL was developed. 120 FRA and 125 GER questionnaires were returned from participants with a median training experience of 4 years. The female to male ratio was 1.3:1 and 78 % of respondents were residents and 22 % recent specialists. Concerning diagnostic procedures, there was no significant overall difference. Germans performed better in basic medical skills, while study participants from FRA had performed surgical procedures significantly more often in a more independent manner than German respondents in the areas of otology, rhinology and head and neck. Only in septoplasty, as part of rhinology, the Germans had a light advantage compared to the French. No difference was found for trauma surgery. No gender-specific difference became apparent. Taken together, in FRA, ORL training is far more surgically orientated than in GER. It remains unclear at what time, the Germans may catch up with their skills. Initiatives should be taken in GER to secure an adequate acquisition of surgical skill and experience to maintain a high level of ORL-specific competence.