Surg J R Coll Surg E
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Skills training has been an increasingly important focus of surgical training and is ideally performed prior to reaching the operating room. Although our understanding of the role is increasing, and there are more publications describing endpoints with simulation and different training models, the optimal training methodology remains unclear. ⋯ Feedback during training is likely important, and the more proximate that feedback, the better its effectiveness. Optimal skills' training likely depends on a combination of having the optimal curriculum, in conjunction with an appropriate training model.
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The education, certification, and credentialing of surgeons is undergoing change brought about by public expectations and by reform within the profession. In the United States, there is a clear trend towards standardization of education, as exemplified by the Surgical Council on Resident Education (SCORE) curriculum. ⋯ Finally, there is clarity emerging from the curriculum development process about the expected operative skills of graduating surgical trainees, and this will ultimately drive the process by which surgeons are credentialed by their hospitals or surgical centers. This period of change is being accompanied by a demand for more assessment of trainees and for outcomes-based training and residency program accreditation.
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Surg J R Coll Surg E · Jan 2011
ReviewUse of the operative logbook to monitor trainee progress, and evaluate operative supervision provided by accredited training posts.
The Surgical Education and Training (SET) program of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (RACS) represents a change from a time-based program to a competency-based program and much greater emphasis is placed on formative assessment and timely feedback (to Surgical Training Boards - STBs - as well as to the trainee). It demands early recognition of the trainee who is struggling to progress, the so-called "marginal trainee". ⋯ SET also places a demand on training posts--with the expectation that they are providing an environment that is conducive to learning and that the trainees are getting adequate learning opportunities. In the domain of operative skills, this largely implies that levels of operative teaching and supervision should be appropriate to the trainee's stage and ability.
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Surg J R Coll Surg E · Jan 2011
ReviewThe impact of reduced working hours on surgical training in Australia and New Zealand.
There is a worldwide trend for reduced working hours for doctors, particularly in the developed western countries. This has been led by the introduction of the European Working Time Directive (EWTD) that has had a significant impact on work patterns and training. Australia currently has a more flexible working environment but this is changing. In New Zealand there is a contract for resident doctors defining a maximum 72 h of rostered work per week.
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The reduction in working hours has driven interest in surgical simulation as a means of supplementing traditional training models. Simulation offers the opportunity for the rehearsal of a wide range of skills in a controlled, risk-free environment, allowing for the development of mastery at a pace appropriate to the learner and offers a means for objective verification of skills.