To the Editor: Training of adequate numbers of surgeons and other medical specialists has, until recently, been a sleeper issue.1‑3 Trainees are intimately involved in public hospital patient care, but it is generally assumed that private patients are off limits for training. To our knowledge, the perceptions of patients in a private hospital setting have not been formally explored before. We present the results of a survey of attitudes of private hospital patients towards trainee involvement in their care.
The full article is accessible to AMA members and paid subscribers. Login to read more or purchase a subscription now.
Please note: institutional and Research4Life access to the MJA is now provided through Wiley Online Library.
- 1 St Vincent’s Hospital, Melbourne, VIC.
- 2 Victoria University, Melbourne, VIC.
- 3 University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC.
- 1. Deane S. Surgical workforce census 2005. RACS Surg News 2006; 7 (2): 6-7.
- 2. Phelan P. Medical specialist education and training in Australia. Med J Aust 2007; 187: 687-688. <MJA full text>
- 3. Rowbotham J. Private hospitals new training ground for doctors. Sydney Morning Herald 2005; 19 Feb. http://www.smh.com.au/news/Health/Private-hospitals-new-training-ground-for-doctors/2005/02/18/1108709436256.html (accessed Aug 2009).
- 4. Haley RW, Culver DH, Morgan WM, et al. Identifying patients at high risk of surgical wound infection. A simple multivariate index of patient susceptibility and wound contamination. Am J Epidemiol 1985; 121: 206-215.
- 5. Sakon M, Maehara Y, Yoshikawa H, et al. Incidence of venous thromboembolism following major abdominal surgery: a multi-center, prospective epidemiological study in Japan. J Thromb Haemost 2006; 4: 581-586.