Registrar perceptions on general surgical training in South Africa : a report by the South African Society of Surgeons in Training (SASSiT)

dc.contributor.authorPatel, N.
dc.contributor.authorLeusink, A.
dc.contributor.authorSingh, N.
dc.contributor.authorKoto, Modise Zacharia
dc.contributor.authorLuvhengo, T.
dc.date.accessioned2018-10-12T09:15:23Z
dc.date.available2018-10-12T09:15:23Z
dc.date.issued2018-06
dc.description.abstractBACKGROUND : Surgical training varies significantly amongst universities within the same country. This trend is reflected in South Africa and provides an opportunity for innovation to improve the quality of general surgical training. OBJECTIVE : To assess the perceptions of South African general surgery registrars regarding surgical training. METHOD : A prospective descriptive study was performed by means of a confidential questionnaire distributed to general surgical registrars at all eight training centers in South Africa. Participants were asked to give comments regarding adequacy of formal academic teaching, level of supervision during surgical procedures, exposure to and training in minimally invasive surgery (MIS), and preparation for examinations. Descriptive statistics were generated with Microsoft Excel. Ethics clearance was obtained from the University of the Witwatersrand Human Research Ethics Committee. RESULTS : Of 200 questionnaires distributed 105 (52.5%) were returned. 44% (105/241) of all registrars from six training institutions participated. 89.5% (94/105) of respondents reported that they attended less than six hours of formal academic teaching per week and 71.4% (75/105) indicated that their institution offered less than six hours of formal academic teaching per week. 76.2% (80/105) of respondents regarded lack of protected academic time as the greatest obstacle to their surgical training and 95.2% (99/105) reported that clinical responsibilities prevented them from attending formal academic teaching regularly. Overall, only 31.4% (33/105), 41.9% (44/105) and 37.1% (39/105) were satisfied with the amount of formal academic teaching, level of supervision during theatre procedures and exposure to minimally invasive surgery respectively. Lack of resources and lack of appropriate skills were identified as a hindrance to MIS training by 47.6% (50/105) and 28.6% (30/105) of respondents respectively. CONCLUSION : Surgical registrars are dissatisfied with the amount of formal academic teaching and protected academic time, level of supervision in theatre and their exposure to MIS. These challenges compromise trainees’ ability to practice independently after qualification. Numerous interventions are necessary and possible to address these challenges.en_ZA
dc.description.departmentSurgeryen_ZA
dc.description.librarianam2018en_ZA
dc.description.urihttp://www.sajs.org.za/index.php/sajsen_ZA
dc.identifier.citationPatel, N., Leusink, A., Singh, N. et al. 2018, 'Registrar perceptions on general surgical training in South Africa : a report by the South African Society of Surgeons in Training (SASSiT)', South African Journal of Surgery / Suid-Afrikaanse Tydskrif vir Chirurgie, vol. 56, no. 2, pp. 10-14.en_ZA
dc.identifier.issn0038-2361 (print)
dc.identifier.issn2078-5151 (online)
dc.identifier.other10.17159/2078-5151/2018/v56n2a2448
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/2263/66857
dc.language.isoenen_ZA
dc.publisherHealth and Medical Publishing Groupen_ZA
dc.rights© 2018 Health and Medical Publishing Group. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial Works License (CC BY-NC 3.0) .en_ZA
dc.subjectSurgical trainingen_ZA
dc.subjectGeneral surgical registrarsen_ZA
dc.subjectSouth Africa (SA)en_ZA
dc.subjectPreparation for examinationsen_ZA
dc.subjectMinimally invasive surgery (MIS)en_ZA
dc.subjectSurgical proceduresen_ZA
dc.subjectLevel of supervisionen_ZA
dc.subjectFormal academic teachingen_ZA
dc.titleRegistrar perceptions on general surgical training in South Africa : a report by the South African Society of Surgeons in Training (SASSiT)en_ZA
dc.typeArticleen_ZA

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