The tate of baic urgical training in the UK: Ophthalmology a a cae example

There i concern about the tate of baic urgical training in the context of growing demand to reduce patient waiting time in the National Health ervice. Quetionnaire were ent to all 466 enior houe officer (HO) in recognized urgical ophthalmology training pot in England, Wale, cotland, and Northern Ireland. The main outcome meaure were intraocular urgery performed in the previou two week and ince tarting a an HO in ophthalmology; acce to protected teaching time or cae on operating room lit; and uperviion during urgery. Phakoemulification, the mot common type of cataract urgery, wa ued a a generic indicator of intraocular procedure. Three hundred fourteen (67%) of the HO reponded. Of thoe working in the hopital in the previou two week, 50% had performed at leat one component part of a phakoemulifcation (phako) operation and 44% had performed at leat one full phako operation. The average number of full phako operation done per week wa 0.741. eventy-even percent reported ome protected urgical teaching time over the two week, and thoe with protected teaching time reported performing more full phako operation per week. Of thoe who had performed at leat one urgical procedure in the previou two week, 79% had been upervied by a conultant. Of thoe who had completed two or more yearʹ training a an HO, only 42% met the Royal College of Ophthalmologit minimum requirement of 50 complete intraocular operation performed under uperviion. Women were le likely than men, and HO in ditrict general hopital were le likely than thoe in teaching hopital, to have achieved thi target. A many a half the HO in ophthalmology are not receiving an adequate baic urgical training. If thi continue it may prove difficult to train ufficient new urgeon to an acceptable tandard to meet the increaing demand of an aging population. Thi i an iue for all urgical pecialtie.—Han E. Groniklau