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In this article the authors report back from a colloquium held at Balliol College, Oxford, last September. The meeting, convened by the Oxford School of Surgery, considered the challenges posed to education by the reduced hours brought in August 2009 by the European Working Time Directive (EWTD).

Purpose:To date no studies have specifically evaluated the use of handovers amongst core surgical trainees (CSTs) in the United Kingdom. We examined handover practice at the Oxford School of Surgery to assess and improve CSTs’ perception of handover use as well as its quality, and ultimately patient care.Methods:Based on guidelines published by the British Medical Association and Royal College of Surgeons, a 5-point Likert style questionnaire that collected data on handover practice, its educational value, and the CSTs’satisfaction with handover was given to 50 CSTs in 2010.Results:Forty CSTs (80.0%) responded to the questionnaire. The most striking findings revolved around the perceived educational value, formal training, and auditing practice of handovers throughout various units, which were all remarkably lower than expected. As a result, handover practice amongst CSTs was targeted and revised at the University Hospital’s Department of Plastic Surgery, with the implementation of targeted changes to improve handover practice.Conclusion:The execution of daily handovers was an underused educational tool amongst surveyed CSTs and may be an important modality to target, particularly in the competency-based, time-limited training CSTs receive. We recommend modifications to current practice based on our results and the literature and encourage the assessment of handover practice at other institutions.