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The current state of orthopaedic residency in 18 European countries

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Abstract

Purpose

The aim of this study was to compare differences in current orthopaedic and trauma training programs across Europe.

Methods

A questionnaire was sent to the FORTE (Federation of Orthopaedic Trainees in Europe) representatives of 25 different European countries, of which 18 responded. The questionnaire included demographic information and information concerning the structure of the training programs, including duration, selection, and mandatory training requirements.

Results

The number of trainees per specialist varied between countries from a ratio of 1:2 to 1:7. Residency was generally five to six years in all the countries. In more than half of the countries selection was interview-based. Nearly all countries utilized a logbook. About 80% of the participating countries had a final examination. When assessing the components of training it was found that only one country (the United Kingdom) had mandatory minimum requirements for (1) courses, (2) surgical procedures, (3) research and (4) leadership. Nearly 40% of the participating countries had only one or none of these four components as a mandatory training requirement.

Conclusions

There are many similarities in training programs, but some important differences remain in overall requirements and final qualification. The main limitation of this study was that we were unable to get data from all the European countries. FORTE will continue to serve as a forum for sharing best practices with the ultimate goal of improving and harmonizing the level of orthopaedic training across Europe. Future studies should aim to include further details about training programs as well as to include data from more countries.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank FORTE secretary Ms. Clara Alves for her help with the study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, University of Helsinki and Helsinki University Hospital, Sairaalakatu 1, Vantaa PL 900, 00029 HUS, Helsinki, Finland

    Rami Madanat & Tatu J. Mäkinen

  2. Department of Trauma and Orthopaedic Surgery, Gloucestershire Royal Hospital, Great Western Road, Gloucester, UK, GL50 3BW

    Daniel Ryan

  3. Orthopaedics and Traumatology Department, Hacettepe University School of Medicine, 06320, Ankara, Turkey

    Gazi Huri

  4. Department of Orthopaedics & Sports Medicine, Pennsylvania Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, 800 Spruce Street, Philadelphia, PA, 19107, USA

    Nikolaos Paschos

  5. Orthopaedics and Traumatology Department, Hospital Beatriz Angelo, Lisbon, Portugal

    Joao Vide

  6. Hospital Particular do Algarve, Faro, Portugal

    Joao Vide

Authors
  1. Rami Madanat
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  2. Tatu J. Mäkinen
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  3. Daniel Ryan
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  4. Gazi Huri
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  5. Nikolaos Paschos
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  6. Joao Vide
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Consortia

and the FORTE writing committee

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Rami Madanat.

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Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Funding

Rami Madanat and Tatu Mäkinen received research support from the Jane and Aatos Erkko foundation.

Ethical approval

This article does not contain any studies with human participants or animals performed by any of the authors.

Additional information

FORTE writing committee: Stjepan Dokuzovic, Croatia; Bjarke Viberg, Denmark; Charles Riviere, France; Matthias Klotz, Germany; Fiachra Rowan, Ireland; Bujar Shabani, Kosovo; Kurstein Sant, Malta; Kjartan Koi, Norway; Yousef Naser, Slovakia; Anže Mihelič, Slovenia; Eduardo Gardella, Spain; Yosef Tyson and Marie Leksell, Sweden; Jasmin Diallo, Switzerland.

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Madanat, R., Mäkinen, T.J., Ryan, D. et al. The current state of orthopaedic residency in 18 European countries. International Orthopaedics (SICOT) 41, 681–687 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00264-017-3427-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00264-017-3427-0

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