Surgical resident satisfaction with the current surgical training program in the Riyadh area.
BACKGROUND
The satisfaction of surgical residents with their training programs plays an important role in dictating its output. This survey was conducted to explore the satisfaction of surgical residents with their training programs in the Riyadh area.


METHODS
A survey questionnaire was distributed in four major hospitals to explore the view of surgical residents regarding their training programs. Frequency tables were generated for each question in the survey.


RESULTS
About 78 survey forms were distributed and 52 were retrieved (67%). About 45% of residents had a comprehensive orientation on admission to the program, but only 20% felt it was helpful. Only 40% of residents felt that their trainers were committed to training and that the consultants who were trained abroad were more committed than those trained locally (62% vs 36%, P =.01). Only 15% felt the residents themselves had enough bedside teaching or operative experience. Seventy-eight percent of the residents felt that current training does not meet their expectations. However, 85% felt that training abroad was better than local training, and 60% felt it should be mandatory. While 90% felt that training programs should be unified nationally and controlled by one organization, only 6% felt that the current governing body was capable of monitoring the training. Moreover, only 28% felt that current reviews of programs by the governing body are effective.


CONCLUSIONS
These results show that surgical residents are generally dissatisfied with current training programs. The study suggests that there are significant weaknesses in the current programs and the governing body may be ineffective in monitoring the programs. We feel that a national review of surgical training programs is warranted in view of these results.
Al Shanafey
Saud
S
Department of Surgery, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. sashanafey@kfshrc.edu.sa
Alzahrani
Ali
A
AlBallaa
Abdulrahman
A
Alballaa
Abdulaziz
A
D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D004503:Education, Medical, Graduate / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000592:standards*; D005180:Faculty, Medical / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000592:standards; D013502:General Surgery / Q000193:education*; D006801:Humans; D007396:Internship and Residency / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D015397:Program Evaluation / Q000379:methods; D012529:Saudi Arabia; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
J Surg Res. 2004 Jun 15;119(2):124-9
15145693
Med Teach. 2006 Sep;28(6):497-526
17074699
Am J Surg. 2003 Apr;185(4):323-7
12657383
Surgery. 2007 Aug;142(2):303-10
17689700
JAMA. 1986 Aug 8;256(6):734-9
3088295
Acad Med. 2002 Sep;77(9):940-1
12228114
Surgery. 2004 Sep;136(3):567-72
15349103
Ann Surg. 2005 Feb;241(2):373-80
15650650
J Gen Intern Med. 1997 Apr;12 Suppl 2:S90-7
9127250
BMJ. 1996 Feb 10;312(7027):326-7
8611818
Int J Psychiatr Nurs Res. 2003 Sep;9(1):1014-24
14533232
Acad Med. 1996 May;71(5):460-3
9114862
Acad Med. 1998 Mar;73(3):324-32
9526460
Ann Saudi Med. 1999 Jul-Aug;19(4):341-4
17277536
Acad Med. 1998 Apr;73(4):387-96
9580715