Smaller Pieces of the Hysterectomy Pie

Abstract

In Brief Residents in obstetrics and gynecology are increasingly confronted with a wider range of techniques that must be mastered to perform hysterectomy, including abdominal, vaginal, laparoscopic, and robotic approaches. This is accompanied by a decrease in the number of hysterectomies performed annually. Possible solutions to the dilemma created for surgical teaching includes a comprehensive program evaluating surgical competency by establishing numbers needed to achieve competency for specific major procedures. The recent proliferation of modes of hysterectomy, in tandem with decreasing total numbers of hysterectomies performed, presents a challenge for resident surgical training.