Surgical education and training in the new millennium

Excerpt

It has been stated that the only person that welcomes change is a baby wearing a dirty nappy. This is the view mirrored by many surgeons dealing with current changes in healthcare delivery and its impact upon the education and training of residents. Legislation of workforce hours, waiting list initiatives, ambulatory care centers, and star ratings for hospitals have led to conflicts between service and training priorities. It is no longer acceptable, nor economically efficient, to train surgeons using the age-old apprenticeship model. These drivers for change make it necessary to develop a new, integrated solution to maintain the healthcare workforce while enabling reconfiguration of hospital services. …