To the Editor: In their letter of 5 October 2009, Wong and colleagues highlight the importance of providing training for surgical specialties in the private sector.1 With 64% of surgical activity in Australia now occurring in the private sector,2 and public hospital activity constrained due to ongoing budget imperatives, the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (RACS) has been actively exploring this idea for some years.
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- Royal Australasian College of Surgeons, Melbourne, VIC.
- 1. Wong LM, Wun LP, Shaw J, Vellar D. The private hospital: a potential surgical training ground [letter]. Med J Aust 2009; 191: 410. <MJA full text>
- 2. Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. Australian hospital statistics 2007–08. Canberra: AIHW, 2009. (AIHW Cat. No. HSE 71.)
- 3. Collins JP, Gough IR, Civil ID, Stitz RW. A new surgical education and training programme. ANZ J Surg 2007; 77: 497-501.
- 4. Medical Specialist Training Steering Committee. Expanding settings for medical specialist training. A report to the Australian Health Ministers’ Advisory Council. Canberra: Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing, 2006.