Workload and surgical training of residents in France: Results of a national inquiry

Objective: Describe the workload of French residents in surgery presently in training and analyze the factors influencing the quality of this training.

Methods: Mail questionnaire sent between June and September 2009 to French surgical residents. Items analyzed included demographics, hospital working time per week, post-call time off, planning of a fellowship after internship and academic endeavors. Received practical and theoretical instruction/training were evaluated.

Results: Mean hospital working time was 67 hours per week. Factors influencing working time were gender, geographical localization, and post-call off-duty. Post-call off-duty was observed by 35% of the residents. Gender and planned fellowship after internship significantly influenced this rate. The mean grade given to practical instruction was more than 6/10 for all surgical specialties. The theoretical instruction mean grade was equal or lower than the practical education mean grade for all surgical specialties.

Conclusion: This study confirmed the high workload of French residents in surgery. Restricted work hours regulations are largely disregarded.