American journal of surgery
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The Residency Review Committee-Surgery (RRC--S), 1 of 10 surgical specialties of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) has monitored the surgical volume of all general surgical residents closely. As a consequence of the reduction of duty hours with the limitation of an 80-hour work-week (averaged over 4 weeks), we were interested in the impact of these restrictions on surgical (volume) experience since its first year of implementation (2003--2004). Therefore, we evaluated the surgical volume of general surgical services since the implementation of the ACGME duty-hour restrictions and compared this volume with that of previous years without these duty limits. ⋯ RRCs that evaluate general surgery and surgical specialties have responded aggressively and professionally to implement the duty-hour standards per the ACGME. This brief report should be considered an interim communication to evaluate the surgical experience impact for programs currently under the restriction of duty-hour limits. The data provided in the first year of evaluation since the implementation of the 80-hour work-week restriction policy suggest that there has been no significant change in the overall surgical experience for major procedures (per resident), nor has there been a negative impact on Chief Resident surgical experience. A continuum of the prospective evaluation process is required by the RRC-S and other surgical specialties to ensure that requisite surgical volume is maintained throughout the entire 5 years of clinical surgery.
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Editorial Comparative Study
Why should the VA continue academic affiliations?
Academic affiliations between VA medical centers and medical schools have made an important contribution to the healthcare of veterans and the education of physicians over the last 60 years. The rationale for these affiliations and their establishment following World War II is discussed. The circumstances leading to affiliations and the benefit they afford veterans remain pertinent today.