To the Editor: On a similar topic to the recent series by McNamara on the length of medical education,1,2 a provocative piece published earlier in the Journal of the American Medical Association suggested that medical training could be shortened by 30% in the United States, without detriment to clinical skills.3 The reality is that there is a paucity of evidence for the ideal duration of training to create competent clinicians.4
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- 1. McNamara S. Does it take too long to become a doctor? Part 1. Med J Aust 2012; 196: 528-530. <MJA full text>
- 2. McNamara S. Does it take too long to become a doctor? Part 2. Med J Aust 2012; 196: 595-597. <MJA full text>
- 3. Emanuel EJ, Fuchs VR. Shortening medical training by 30%. JAMA 2012; 307: 1143-1144.
- 4. Maman-Dogma J, Rousseau M, Dove M, et al. Length of training in postgraduate medical education in Canada. http://www.afmc.ca/pdf/fmec/10_Maman%20Dogma_Length%20of% 20Training.pdf (accessed Jun 2012).
- 5. Drolet BC, Christopher DA, Fischer SA. Residents’ response to duty-hour regulations — a follow-up national survey. N Eng J Med 2012; May 30 [Epub ahead of print].
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