Brief communication of the Residency Review Committee-Surgery (RRC-S) on residents' surgical volume in general surgery

RRCs that evaluate general surgery and surgical specialties have responded aggressively and professionally to implement the duty-hour standards per the ACGME. This brief report should be considered an interim communication to evaluate the surgical experience impact for programs currently under the restriction of duty-hour limits. The data provided in the first year of evaluation since the implementation of the 80-hour work-week restriction policy suggest that there has been no significant change in the overall surgical experience for major procedures (per resident), nor has there been a negative impact on Chief Resident surgical experience. A continuum of the prospective evaluation process is required by the RRC-S and other surgical specialties to ensure that requisite surgical volume is maintained throughout the entire 5 years of clinical surgery.