Training in the practical application of damage control and early total care operative philosophy - perceptions of UK orthopaedic specialist trainees

INTRODUCTION Despite improvements in the outcome of individuals sustaining significant injury, the optimum management of fractures in traumatised patients remains an area of debate and publication. There is, however, a paucity of studies regarding the specifics of acquired experience and training of junior orthopaedic surgeons in the practical application of these skills. Our null hypothesis is that, despite alteration in surgical training, the perceived confidence and adequacy of training of UK orthopaedic specialist trainees in the application of damage control orthopaedics (DCO) and early total care (ETC) philosophy is unaffected. SUBJECTS AND METHODS A web-based survey was sent to a sample of orthopaedic trainees. From 888 trainees, 222 responses were required to achieve a 5% error rate with 90% confidence. RESULTS A total of 232 responses were received. Trainees reported a high level of perceived confidence with both external fixation and intramedullary devices. Exposure to cases was sporadic although perceived training adequacy was high. A similar pattern was seen in perceived operative role with the majority of trainees expecting to be performing such operations, albeit under varying levels of supervision. In a more complicated case of spanning external fixation for a 'floating knee, trainees reported a decreased level of perceived confidence and limited exposure. One-third of trainees reported never having been involved in such a case. In contrast to nationally collated logbook data, exposure to and perceived confidence in managing cases involving ETC and DCO were similar. CONCLUSIONS Despite changes in the training of junior orthopaedic surgeons, trainee-reported confidence and adequacy of training in the practical application of DCO and ETC was high. Exposure to cases overall was, however, seen to be limited and there was a suggestion of disparity between current operative experiences of trainees and that recorded in the national trainee logbook.