Abstract
BackgroundThe introduction of the 80-h shift restriction for surgical residents in Korea necessitated many changes to their training systems. The purpose of this study was to conduct a survey among program directors, determine the conditions necessary for them to fulfill their responsibilities, and investigate whether there was a difference between tertiary hospitals and general hospitals in the surgical training environment.MethodsQuestionnaires were distributed to program directors nationwide to investigate their status as well as the status, conditions, evaluation methods, and feedback methods of surgical residency training programs. Descriptive statistics and the chi-square test were used for statistical analysis.ResultsThe response rate was 55% (55/100). These 55 institutes train 71% of all residents and 83.6% of these institutes run surgical skill training programs. A laparoscopic training box was available at 30 (55%) institutes, laparoscopic simulator at 30 (33%), and robotic simulator at only 12 (22%). Internal assessment of residents was conducted at 24 (43.6%) institutes. Regular interviews were conducted with residents at 21 (38.2%) institutes. Regular questionnaires about the training program were conducted among residents at 16 (29.1%) institutes and among training directors at 8 (14.5%). Lastly, 45 (81.8%) program directors reported that at least 30% of their working time was dedicated to residency training.ConclusionsThis is the first study to elucidate current surgical residency training in Korea: Feedback systems for residency assessment and training programs are still lacking, and program directors need to dedicate at least 30% of their time to effectively fulfill their role in residency training.
Highlights
The introduction of the 80-h shift restriction for surgical residents in Korea necessitated many changes to their training systems
In Korea, there is almost no information about whether resident training programs are being properly conducted at training institutes; whether there are appropriate regulations regarding the role, capabilities, authority, and duties of training directors; whether there are any assessments to verify that residents are completing these programs successfully; or whether the training directors are being assessed
The aims of this study were to conduct the first survey of designated program directors to ascertain the extent to which training institutes are prepared for surgical resident training, to investigate the conditions for the program directors to properly fulfill their responsibilities in the future, and to investigate whether there was a difference between the tertiary hospitals and the general hospitals in the surgical training environment
Summary
The introduction of the 80-h shift restriction for surgical residents in Korea necessitated many changes to their training systems. In Korea, there is almost no information about whether resident training programs are being properly conducted at training institutes; whether there are appropriate regulations regarding the role, capabilities, authority, and duties of training directors; whether there are any assessments to verify that residents are completing these programs successfully; or whether the training directors are being assessed. The director (or dean) of each hospital was responsible for training, and a training director would typically be designated; because the training environment has changed drastically including advanced technology and techniques such as laparoscopy or robotic surgeries, there is a greater need for a high level of expertise in training, for independent program directors to take responsibility for specialized work, and for education specialists to create and evaluate educational programs. In February 2018, the Korean Surgical Society requested that all training hospitals designate a program director and confirm that this has been done
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