Working time

Working time is the period of time that a person spends on paid labor.

Regulations on reducing working hours for residents reduce the possibilities for practical and psychophysical training, affecting the quality of the residency and prolonging the learning curve 1) 2) These controversial aspects are also critical for the increasing medicolegal issues affecting medical practice in the last few decades 3) 4) Accordingly, the impossibility to try or repeat surgical procedures makes neurosurgical training more difficult. For all these reasons, training on human cadaveric specimens results in an essential and irreplaceable tool for residents and fully-trained neurosurgeons 5)

European Working Time Directive

European Working Time Directive.

1)
Cowie CJA, Pešić-Smith JD, Boukas A, Nelson RJ. Has the impact of the working time regulations changed neurosurgical trainees’ attitudes towards the European working time directive 5 years on? Br J Neurosurg. (2013) 27(5):580–5. 10.3109/02688697.2013.834530
2)
Maxwell AJ, Crocker M, Jones TL, Bhagawati D, Papadopoulos MC, Bell BA. Implementation of the European working time directive in neurosurgery reduces continuity of care and training opportunities. Acta Neurochir. (2010) 152(7):1207–10. 10.1007/s00701-010-0648-z
3)
Steele L, Mukherjee S, Stratton-Powell A, Anderson I, Timothy J. Extent of medicolegal burden in neurosurgery: an analysis of the national health service litigation authority database. Br J Neurosurg. (2015) 29(5):622–9. 10.3109/02688697.2015.1054362
4)
Lefever D, Esfahani DR, Kandregula S, Trosclair K, Demand A, Vega A, et al. The medical legal environment in neurosurgery: an informative overview of the stages of litigation and distinct challenges. World Neurosurg. (2021) 151:370–4. 10.1016/j.wneu.2021.03.039
5)
Bernardo A. Establishment of next-generation neurosurgery research and training laboratory with integrated human performance monitoring. World Neurosurg. (2017) 106:991–1000. 10.1016/j.wneu.2017.06.160