[Surgical training in orthopaedic and trauma departments in Germany].
OBJECTIVE
Training in surgical skills is not at its best in German hospitals in comparison to other countries. There is no detailed curriculum describing which operations a resident has to learn at which stage of his training as in Switzerland or Denmark. We aimed to find out how many typical operations are performed by trainees/residents in orthopaedic surgery.


METHODS
We performed a survey at Orthopeadic and Trauma Departments in Germany to measure the percentage of operations (knee arthroscopies, shoulder arthroscopies and knee arthroplasties) which are performed by trainees and residents.


RESULTS
Retrospective data were evaluated. Out of 35 654 knee arthroscopies, 49.4% were performed by the head of department or senior consultants, 27.6% by junior consultants and 26.9% by trainees. A total of 30,642 shoulder arthroscopies was analysed. 78.4% were operated on by the head of department or senior consultants, 18.3% by junior consultants and 6.9% by trainees. We evaluated 31,138 knee arthroplasties, 80% were operated by the the head of department or senior consultants, 14% by junior consultants and 7% by trainees.


CONCLUSIONS
Surgical training is still not at its best for trainees. Further improvement is necessary to create a transparent training environment for younger surgeons.
Lüring
C
C
Orthopädische Klinik, Universität Regensburg, Asklepios Klinikum Bad Abbach. c_luering@yahoo.de
Tingart
M
M
Beckmann
J
J
Grifka
J
J
Bäthis
H
H
D019645:Arthroplasty, Replacement, Knee / Q000193:education; D001182:Arthroscopy / Q000193:education; D003479:Curriculum / Q000592:standards; D003625:Data Collection; D004503:Education, Medical, Graduate; D005858:Germany; D006748:Hospital Departments; D006785:Hospitals, University; D006801:Humans; D007396:Internship and Residency; D007719:Knee Joint / Q000601:surgery; D009313:National Health Programs; D009985:Orthopedics / Q000193:education*; D012785:Shoulder Joint / Q000601:surgery; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000601:surgery*