Abstract

Should surgical training start with the medical student?

Author(s): William Knight

Surgical training time in Britain has been shortened. Surgeons will be trained in one fifth of the time that was available to their predecessors. The surgical learning curve has steepened. This problem is exacerbated by the fact that medical students receive a poor induction into the operating department and consequently develop fear and anxiety in the theatre environment. Hence many students fail to acquire the active learning behaviours that would lessen the impact of this steepened surgical learning curve. This paper argues that British medical schools need to formalise a comprehensive theatre induction programme to promote confidence in the surgical novice. This confidence will advance the desire and motivation to acquire and develop surgical skills.