Establishment of hospital-based surgical residency programs as a health policy for surgical needs provision: an Indonesian perspective

OBJECTIVE: One of the health interventions that can be implemented cost-effectively in developing countries is the provision of basic surgical procedures. One way to increase access to surgical services is to increase the production of surgeons, in this case through increasing the surgical residency program. There are similarities between university-based surgical residency programs and hospital-based surgical residency programs. However, in Indonesia, the differences between them are stark; the establishment of hospital-based surgical residency programs is challenging and requires collaboration between the government, university, college of surgery, and private sector. DESIGN: The author reviewed the literature on post-graduate medical education for surgical programs and the contrast between university-based and hospital-based surgical residency programs. SETTING: Information collected from the Indonesian Health Education Independent Accreditation Institution and varied literature was included. PARTICIPANTS: Not applicable. RESULT: In Indonesia, the implementation of an academic surgery environment in the hospital-based surgical residency program is challenging, and the implementation of the academic health system can increase student intake and provide more both from the university and the hospital-based surgical residency program.