Editor—The really depressing aspect of the pithy and well argued editorial by Chikwe et al is that the outcome has been obvious for years.1 The European Working Time Directive is a disaster for medicine.
No amount of teaching in classrooms can compensate for practical experience. No reorganisation of hospital medicine, grades, or subdoctor “assistants” will help. Only a repeal of the directive will do that.
Competing interests: None declared.
References
- 1.Chikwe J, de Souza AC, Pepper JR. No time to train the surgeons. BMJ 2004;328: 418-9. (21 February.) [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]