Increase in working hours is an option for improving surgical education in Denmark
Andresen, K.; Achiam, M.P.; Rosenberg, J.
Ugeskrift for Laeger 175(19): 1328-1331
2013
ISSN/ISBN: 1603-6824 PMID: 23663368 Document Number: 666223
Danish surgeons in training have a 37-hour workweek. These are relatively few hours compared with the hours in England and USA where surgeons have a workweek of respectively 48 and 80 hours. The optimal length of a workweek during surgical education is unknown, but studies have shown that surgeons working more hours have improved abilities in clinical judgment. Learning outcome may improve if Danish surgeons in training were allowed to work more hours. We suggest a 37 + 11-hour workweek, where 11 hours are reserved for educational purposes.