Reflections concerning resident surgical training.

There has been a parallel growth of medical research and quality surgical education during the last 50 years in the United States. Many concerns about our programs are admittedly the by-product of existing societal problems. This address covers specific problems relating to learning, teaching, resident evaluation, discipline, operative supervision, the role of research in the department, the development of a two-tier system of surgical care, and the impact of total patient care on the training of young surgeons.