Are Knowledge Gaps an Expected Result of the Current Culture of Neurosurgical Resident Training?

Abstract

illiam Stewart Halsted, a celebrated American surgeon, introduced the first formal surgical resiW dency training program more than 100 years ago. As demonstrated by its persistence, the American system has been a successful medical educational model for the world (1). However, the methods of training and certifying residents have not changed substantially since initial implementation of this model. The duration of residency training had been arbitrarily defined, and individual competency was evaluated based on the number of postgraduate years and a largely subjective assessment of skills. Andrological learning, also known as “adult learning,” was the dominant method of assimilating information, in which the student takes responsibility for his or her education and the mentor simply guides and inspires (5). The learning process quickly becomes intuitive rather than pedagogic.