THE 60-HOUR WEEK IN SURGERY - A POSSIBILI TY OR IMPOSSIBILITY

The number of hours of work per week by doctors is the subject of grea t controversy in many countries. This has led to restrictive legislati on in several states or countries (New York and Great Britain, for exa mple) which is both cumbersome and restrictive. We have polled the Swi ss surgeons (both trained and in training) in teaching hospitals on th is subject with a questionnaire which also covered some other aspects of training. A majority wishes that the working week be limited (to 60 h/week). However a real limit of 60 h per 7 day week (including call duty) is not reasonable. Furthermore the other problems are considered to be more important by 84% of respondants. Thus the overall opinion is that there are too many surgeons training in a poorly structured sy stem, both on a personal and institutional basis.