What did the study look at?
The aim was to describe, from the residents' own perspective, the training, working conditions, fields of interest, future plans and satisfaction of doctors undergoing specialist training in orthopaedics and traumatology in Turkey. This is a descriptive survey study about medical education, not about patients.
How was it done?
A 24-question survey was designed in collaboration with the Turkish Society of Orthopaedics and Traumatology (TOTBID), the Turkish Orthopaedics and Traumatology Education Council (TOTEK) and the TOTBID Residents and Young Attendings Council. It was given in class to residents at the end of the May 2013 Progress Testing for Speciality in Medicine (UEGS), and to young consultants with up to five years' experience through email groups.
- 725 of the 811 residents in Turkey and 132 young consultants responded, 857 people in total.
- The questions covered five areas: demographics, problems in training, interests and future plans, working conditions and satisfaction.
- 18 questions were multiple choice and 6 used a five-point Likert scale.
What did it find?
- 62.7% answered "yes, and it is applied" to the question of whether a training programme exists. For the log book, the most common answer (46.9%) was "it exists but is not applied".
- 94.3% were in favour of a rotation abroad and 80.4% of a rotation within the country.
- Attending operations was rated as the greatest contributor to training (53.7%), followed by case presentations (20.8%).
- Asked about their department's priority, 36.9% said "patient care" and 7.7% "doing research".
- 22.8% were undecided about their field of interest; arthroplasty (18.1%) and sports surgery (13.9%) were the leading choices.
- 76.2% reported working 8 to 12 hours a day. The technical equipment of clinics and time spent with trainers were rated insufficient.
- 14.9% were fully satisfied with working in their department and 28.3% were unsure. Economic conditions were the only factor significantly associated with satisfaction.
On factors affecting living conditions, the article's abstract names "many emergency on-calls", whereas the results section names "long working hours" as the most influential factor.
The authors' conclusion
The authors regarded this as a pioneering survey of the training challenges faced by orthopaedic residents in Turkey, with a high participation rate. They stated that the results highlight the importance of developing training programmes, increasing time spent with faculty and spreading the use of the log book. In their view, solving these problems depends on standardising training programmes and on accreditation; they suggested repeating similar surveys over time.
The article openly discloses that some authors held positions in TOTBID, TOTEK and the residents' council when the survey was conducted.
Reference
Huri G, Çabuk YS, Gürsoy S, Akkaya M, Özkan S, Öztuna V, Aydıngöz Ö, Şenköylü A. 2016. Evaluation of the orthopaedics and traumatology resident education in Turkey: A descriptive study. Acta Orthopaedica et Traumatologica Turcica 50(5):567-571. Licence: CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.
DOI: 10.1016/j.aott.2016.08.014
Free full text: PubMed Central
This article summarises a published scientific paper for general information; it does not replace an examination or a personal medical assessment. Please consult your doctor about your symptoms.
