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The European Working Time Directive: Will Modern Surgical Training in the United Kingdom Be Sufficient?

Purpose The introduction of the European Working Time Directive in 2009 limits doctors in the United Kingdom to a 48-hour working week. The reduction in surgical training time raises concern over the ability of future surgeons to deliver safe and effective care. Methods This interview-based qualitat...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Wyman, Matthew G, Huynh, Roy, Owers, Corinne
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Cureus 2022
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8890448/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/35251864
http://dx.doi.org/10.7759/cureus.21797
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author Wyman, Matthew G
Huynh, Roy
Owers, Corinne
author_facet Wyman, Matthew G
Huynh, Roy
Owers, Corinne
author_sort Wyman, Matthew G
collection PubMed
description Purpose The introduction of the European Working Time Directive in 2009 limits doctors in the United Kingdom to a 48-hour working week. The reduction in surgical training time raises concern over the ability of future surgeons to deliver safe and effective care. Methods This interview-based qualitative study was conducted within a tertiary referral centre in the United Kingdom. Nine consultant general surgeons were interviewed with the aim of investigating how surgical trainees can comply with the European Working Time Directive whilst gaining sufficient knowledge, skill and experience to be safe surgeons. Results Consultants felt that the European Working Time Directive has impacted surgical training, patient care, service provision, and the professional attitudes of trainees. They felt that current surgical trainees have a relative lack of experience compared to previous generations, which has impacted their ability to manage complex patients. The consultant-trainee relationship was felt to have suffered due to shorter working hours. Furthermore, the move towards shift work has resulted in a lack of continuity of care for patients. Consultants suggested reconfiguring theatre lists to maximise opportunities for trainees. They also recommended that trainees seek out alternative learning methodologies such as simulation, and consider clinical fellowships at the completion of their training to maximise their experience and surgical skills prior to consultancy. Conclusion This study highlights the concerns that senior surgeons working in a busy tertiary referral centre have towards the European Working Time Directive and modern surgical training. The authors recommend that both trainees and consultants have a responsibility to maximize opportunities during training, and that mentorship will need to continue at the consultant level. Further research in other centres can determine whether these sentiments are widespread, and whether institutional steps should be taken to change the way that modern surgeons are trained.
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spelling pubmed-88904482022-03-04 The European Working Time Directive: Will Modern Surgical Training in the United Kingdom Be Sufficient? Wyman, Matthew G Huynh, Roy Owers, Corinne Cureus Medical Education Purpose The introduction of the European Working Time Directive in 2009 limits doctors in the United Kingdom to a 48-hour working week. The reduction in surgical training time raises concern over the ability of future surgeons to deliver safe and effective care. Methods This interview-based qualitative study was conducted within a tertiary referral centre in the United Kingdom. Nine consultant general surgeons were interviewed with the aim of investigating how surgical trainees can comply with the European Working Time Directive whilst gaining sufficient knowledge, skill and experience to be safe surgeons. Results Consultants felt that the European Working Time Directive has impacted surgical training, patient care, service provision, and the professional attitudes of trainees. They felt that current surgical trainees have a relative lack of experience compared to previous generations, which has impacted their ability to manage complex patients. The consultant-trainee relationship was felt to have suffered due to shorter working hours. Furthermore, the move towards shift work has resulted in a lack of continuity of care for patients. Consultants suggested reconfiguring theatre lists to maximise opportunities for trainees. They also recommended that trainees seek out alternative learning methodologies such as simulation, and consider clinical fellowships at the completion of their training to maximise their experience and surgical skills prior to consultancy. Conclusion This study highlights the concerns that senior surgeons working in a busy tertiary referral centre have towards the European Working Time Directive and modern surgical training. The authors recommend that both trainees and consultants have a responsibility to maximize opportunities during training, and that mentorship will need to continue at the consultant level. Further research in other centres can determine whether these sentiments are widespread, and whether institutional steps should be taken to change the way that modern surgeons are trained. Cureus 2022-01-31 /pmc/articles/PMC8890448/ /pubmed/35251864 http://dx.doi.org/10.7759/cureus.21797 Text en Copyright © 2022, Wyman et al. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
spellingShingle Medical Education
Wyman, Matthew G
Huynh, Roy
Owers, Corinne
The European Working Time Directive: Will Modern Surgical Training in the United Kingdom Be Sufficient?
title The European Working Time Directive: Will Modern Surgical Training in the United Kingdom Be Sufficient?
title_full The European Working Time Directive: Will Modern Surgical Training in the United Kingdom Be Sufficient?
title_fullStr The European Working Time Directive: Will Modern Surgical Training in the United Kingdom Be Sufficient?
title_full_unstemmed The European Working Time Directive: Will Modern Surgical Training in the United Kingdom Be Sufficient?
title_short The European Working Time Directive: Will Modern Surgical Training in the United Kingdom Be Sufficient?
title_sort european working time directive: will modern surgical training in the united kingdom be sufficient?
topic Medical Education
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8890448/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/35251864
http://dx.doi.org/10.7759/cureus.21797
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