Aim: Training in surgical skills is not at its best in German hospitals in comparison to other countries. There is no detailed curriculum describing which operations a resident has to learn at which stage of his training as in Switzerland or Denmark. We aimed to find out how many typical operations are performed by trainees/residents in orthopaedic surgery.
Method: We performed a survey at Orthopeadic and Trauma Departments in Germany to measure the percentage of operations (knee arthroscopies, shoulder arthroscopies and knee arthroplasties) which are performed by trainees and residents.
Results: Retrospective data were evaluated. Out of 35 654 knee arthroscopies, 49.4% were performed by the head of department or senior consultants, 27.6% by junior consultants and 26.9% by trainees. A total of 30,642 shoulder arthroscopies was analysed. 78.4% were operated on by the head of department or senior consultants, 18.3% by junior consultants and 6.9% by trainees. We evaluated 31,138 knee arthroplasties, 80% were operated by the the head of department or senior consultants, 14% by junior consultants and 7% by trainees.
Conclusion: Surgical training is still not at its best for trainees. Further improvement is necessary to create a transparent training environment for younger surgeons.
Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart, New York.