Surgical Training in Germany: Desire and Reality

Abstract

In-house surgical education and practical training of surgical skills are inhomogeneous in German hospitals and vary greatly in terms of teaching content and forms. The present survey provides an overview of the currently practiced surgical education and practical training of surgical skills in German hospitals. An online survey was performed among members of the "Deutsche Gesellschaft für Allgemein- und Viszeralchirurgie" (DGAV). It was a prospective data collection, divided into the following two groups: "junior physicians/consultants/senior physicians" and "chief physicians". The questionnaire consisted of 30 questions concerning the frequency, type and quality of in-house surgical education and practical training of surgical skills in German hospitals. A total of 325 physicians participated in the survey, including 61 chief physicians and 264 junior physicians/consultants/senior physicians. Amongst the participants, 107 (33 %) worked in university hospitals, 57 (18 %) in maximum care clinics, 73 (22 %) in major regional hospitals with specialised medical services and 88 (27 %) in basic care facilities. 199 (75.4 %) of the junior physicians/consultants/senior physicians reported a regular, 57 (21.6 %) an irregular and 8 (3.0 %) no formal surgical education or practical training of surgical skills in their hospitals. Assistance in substeps of an operation was considered to be very important by 72 % of the survey participants. Similarly, 71 % rated the practical teaching of basic surgical skills as very important. Furthermore, we investigated the availability of theoretical and practical training offerings as well as satisfaction with educational measures and their importance as assessed by the respondents. The present survey illustrates the current state of surgical education and training in German hospitals. An implementation of pragmatic approaches such as the assistance in substeps of an operation and guided practical training of surgical skills might help to improve the satisfaction of physicians undergoing surgical training.