The Saudi Orthopedic Residency Program: A comparison of the Riyadh training center with other Saudi training centers

Objective: To evaluate the training quality of the Saudi Orthopedic Residency Program in general, and to compare the Riyadh training center with other training centers in Saudi Arabia. Methods: A group of 38 residents from Riyadh and 32 residents from other centers in Saudi Arabia were surveyed in a cross-sectional manner. The participants completed carefully designed questionnaires pertaining to the most critical issues of their training. Results: Reading peer-reviewed, scholarly articles was more popular with trainees in Riyadh compared with trainees working outside Riyadh, for whom textbooks were the dominant educational resource (P = 0.028). The data revealed insufficiencies in surgical training in the trauma discipline in Riyadh and relative deficiencies of surgical experience in subspecialties outside of Riyadh. In contrast to residents trained outside of Riyadh, Riyadh trainees denied having a weak level of training (P = 0.021). Examination scores did not reflect the actual level of resident competency according to the residents' responses. The program's capacity could not accommodate the growing number of trainees. Both groups reported similar levels of expertise with regard to the basic orthopedic operative skills. Conclusion: Educational resources should be within the reach of all residents. Senior supervisors should not compromise resident training. The number of trainees should be proportional to program capacity. Resident feedback should not be neglected, and the program committee must recognize delinquent trainers and protect the trainees from them. Deficient areas of training should be identified and rectified. A case logbook may be used as an indicator of surgical exposure. Frequent changes to examination formats, dates and locations should be avoided.