A regional survey of emergency surgery: the trainees' perspective

The reduction of junior doctors' hours and the 'Calmanisation' of higher su rgical trainees have led to an inevitable decrease in clinical experience. The development of subspecialisation within general surgery limits the dive rsity of elective operative experience, while the resident surgical registr ar continues to be faced by the same range of emergencies. Procedures such as tracheostomy, thoracotomy and emergency buff hole, although rare in an e mergency setting, are seldom seen by surgical trainees outside ENT, cardiot horacic and neurosurgical departments, respectively. However, these life sa ving procedures continue to be within the remit of the general surgeon, and were considered as essential knowledge in the operative viva of the FRCS e xamination.