Shafiq Mohammed O, Khaja Aliaa F, Alshammari Abdulmuhsen N, Altayeb Mohammad A, Ghabban Khaled M, Khoshhal Khalid I
Department of Orthopedics, Oman Medical Specialty Board, Muscat, Oman.
Department of Orthopedics, AlRazi Hospital, Kuwait Institution for Medical Specializations, Kuwait City, Kuwait.
J Taibah Univ Med Sci. 2019 Apr 1;14(2):131-138. doi: 10.1016/j.jtumed.2019.02.005. eCollection 2019 Apr.
Becoming an Orthopaedic Surgeon is a challenge worldwide. This study attempted to determine the level of training at which orthopaedic surgery is chosen as a career by residents and graduates of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. The reasons for choosing this surgical speciality and barriers faced by residents were also explored.
In this cross-sectional study, a questionnaire was electronically distributed to all GCC orthopaedic surgery residents. All currently enrolled residents and fellows in orthopaedic surgery programmes in KSA, Oman, Kuwait, and Bahrain were invited. Exclusion criteria included first-year residents and those who had completed their residencies before 2013.
A total of 275 out of 569 residents responded, a response rate of 48.33%. More than half of the participants (54.5%) chose orthopaedic surgery during their undergraduate studies. Personal interest ranked number one at 61.09%, while parental pressure was found to be the least important reason (0.36%). The majority (88.0%) agreed that orthopaedic surgery was physically demanding, whereas 33.1% wanted to quit orthopaedic surgery. The interest of residents for future subspecialities was mostly in paediatric orthopaedics and sports medicine, as suggested by 16.4% and 16.0%, respectively.
This study showed an alarming number of residents who wanted to quit orthopaedic surgery. The challenges residents faced were burnout, lack of time, limited exposure to teaching hospitals, and limited seats for subspeciality training. We recommend increasing the number of orthopaedic surgery subspeciality fellowships, as well as the number of fellowship seats in training programmes. The well-being of orthopaedic surgery residents should also be given consideration.
在全球范围内，成为一名骨科医生是一项挑战。本研究试图确定海湾合作委员会（GCC）国家的住院医师和毕业生选择骨科手术作为职业时的培训水平。还探讨了选择这一外科专业的原因以及住院医师面临的障碍。
在这项横断面研究中，通过电子方式向所有GCC骨科住院医师发放问卷。邀请了沙特阿拉伯、阿曼、科威特和巴林目前参加骨科手术项目的所有住院医师和研究员。排除标准包括一年级住院医师和2013年之前完成住院医师培训的人员。
569名住院医师中共有275人回复，回复率为48.33%。超过一半的参与者（54.5%）在本科学习期间选择了骨科手术。个人兴趣以61.09%位居榜首，而父母压力被认为是最不重要的原因（0.36%）。大多数人（88.0%）认为骨科手术对体力要求很高，而33.1%的人想放弃骨科手术。住院医师对未来亚专业的兴趣主要集中在小儿骨科和运动医学，分别有16.4%和16.0%的人表示。
本研究显示，想放弃骨科手术的住院医师数量惊人。住院医师面临的挑战包括职业倦怠、时间不足、接触教学医院的机会有限以及亚专业培训名额有限。我们建议增加骨科手术亚专业研究员职位的数量，以及培训项目中研究员职位的数量。还应考虑骨科住院医师的福祉。
