How long does it take to train a surgeon?

doi:10.1136/bmj.b4260

Published 5 November 2009, doi:10.1136/bmj.b4260
Cite this as: BMJ 2009;339:b4260

Analysis

How long does it take to train a surgeon?

Gretchen Purcell Jackson, assistant professor of surgery and biomedical informatics, John L Tarpley, professor of surgery and anaesthesiology

¹ Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital, 220 Children’s Way, Nashville TN 37232, USA

gretchen.jackson@vanderbilt.edu

Restrictions on the working hours of doctors may be compromisingsurgical education and patient care. Gretchen Purcell Jacksonand John Tarpley argue that greater flexibility is needed inapplying regulations

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

The time required to train a competent surgeon is a hotly debatedtopic as working hours for medical trainees are increasinglyrestricted worldwide. Surgical disciplines are unique in thatsurgeons must not only acquire medical knowledge but also developthe manual dexterity and, sometimes, the strength and enduranceto perform procedures. We examine the evidence from the UnitedStates on the effects of duty hour legislation on surgeons’training.

Not all countries regulate working hours, but in those thatdo, the maximum hours per week for a doctor in training canrange from as little as 37 hours in Denmark to 80 hours in theUnited States. The European Working Time Directive decreasedthe weekly hours for trainees to 48 in August 2009.¹ In theUnited States, the Accreditation Council for Graduate MedicalEducation (ACGME) imposed a national limit of 80 hours weeklyfor all medical trainees in 2003. The . . . [Full text of this article]

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