432 Returning to Surgical training. Are we meeting the need?

Abstract

Abstract Aims The association of time out of training (TOOT) with skills fade is well documented. Despite the establishment of Supported Return to Training (SRTT) in 2017, engagement from Surgical trainees is suboptimal. We sought to evaluate this. Methods An online survey of Yorkshire Surgical trainees was conducted in January 2022. Results were analysed as were Yorkshire SRTT data for the past 2 years. Results Of 22 respondents, 18 had had time out, 3 were planning it and 3 considering it in future. SRTT was used by 52.6%, 21% felt it did not meet their needs whilst 15.8% were unaware of SRTT. This is reflected in the regional HEE data. In the previous 2 years 85 surgical trainees had taken TOOT but only 22 (26%) had engaged with the SRTT process, compared with 60% of Obstetrics and Gynaecology (O&G) trainees and 87% of Anaesthetic trainees. Analysis of the reasons for TOOT showed that surgical trainees most commonly took time out for research (OOPR) (28%) or parental leave (28%) whilst 67% of Anaesthetics and 49% of O&G trainees had time out for parental leave. Conclusions Despite having higher numbers of returning trainees, engagement with the SRTT process from the school of surgery is poor. This is likely multifactorial, reflecting the demographics of what is perceived as a less family friendly specialty, failure to recognise or acknowledge skills fade among OOPR trainees and an existing offering that is not fit for purpose. A collaborative exploration of these issues is required to address this.