Part time surgical training

An article from the RACS Women In Surgery Section on part time surgical training has been published in the December edition of the ANZ Journal of Surgery. Co-authored by AFMW Committee members Dr Jillian Tomlinson and Associate Professor Deborah Colville, the article explains statistics show that surgical training has the lowest level of flexible training of any medical specialty in Australia. A survey of trainees conducted by the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons Trainee Association in 2010 demonstrates that over a third of trainees are interested in less than full time training but while the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (RACS) has a part time training policy that allows part time training, the practical barriers mean that flexible surgical training is practically non-existent. The article calls for hospitals and surgical supervisors to work together with RACS to provide flexible surgical training positions for trainees. The issue has also been covered in The Australian newspaper, with an article titled “Women doctors reaching ‘surgical glass ceiling’“. We encourage any surgical trainees who wish to discuss issues around flexible surgical training to contact Dr Tomlinson and Associate Professor Colville.