Ann RC oll Surg Engl 2009; 91:4 94-499 494The UK Government's restructuring of specialist training,outlinedinModernising Medical Careers (MMC), 1 will have asignificanti mpact on surgical training in all surgical specialties including plastic surgery.Frequent evaluationofboth the surgical and diagnostic skills of traineesw ill be needed to determine the impact of shortened specialisttraining.Skin lesions make up alarge part of the plastic surgeon's out-patient workload and one of the effectso ft he Government's'two-week rule' and guidelines for referral of suspected skin cancers has been an increase in total referral ratios from primary to secondary care.
2The rise in the number of suspect lesions being referred represents as ignificant service requirement and one that will result in junior registrars seeing an increasing number of skin lesions. Whilst several studies have compared the clinical accuracy of consultants and specialist registrars, [3][4][5] few have addressed the learning curve of individual trainees with regard to clinical diagnosis.There is little evidence to reflect how quickly (or even if) trainees' clinical diagnostic skills improve with time, given regular exposure to skin pathology.T he clinically obvious melanoma or basal cell carcinoma can be recognised from the textbook; however,an umber of skin lesions (both benign and malignant) do not always fit textbook descriptions. The diagnosis of these lesions and decisions regarding appropriate management can be difficult for the trainee and comes with experience.In this study,weassessed the diagnostic accuracy of junior surgical trainees attending ar apid-access pigmented lesion clinic. Accurate clinical diagnosis depends on the reliable recognition of signs and symptoms. This expertise comes from experience in seeing patients which has been traditionallyg ained over al ong training period. Shortened specialist training (Modernising Medical Careers)h as led to ag reater reliance on structured teaching and skills transfer programmes. The accuracy of clinical diagnosis and the rate at which diagnostic skills improve during training is important for the assessment of trainees, and the delivery of care.
PLASTIC SURGERY
Ann RC oll Surg Engl