Surgical training: the impact of changes in curriculum and experience.

Introduction: Craft specialties, such as surgery, rely on practice to acquire skill. Yet recent changes in training in the United Kingdom have decreased experience and altered the balance of curriculum content. Most recently, the European Working Time Directive has led to a reduction in working hours and expansion in the number of trainees.

Changing postgraduate medical education: a commentary from the United Kingdom.

The current changes in postgraduate training in the United Kingdom are largely driven by government rather than the profession, and are aimed at producing a medical workforce more quickly and more fit-for-purpose in a rapidly changing National Health Service. Most aspects of the changes are, as yet, untested. Postgraduate training now consists of a 2-year varied Foundation program, followed by selection to a longer training program within a chosen specialty (often with further selection points to different subspecialties after 2 years).