Background: In this study, we aimed to constitute a general approach, by investigating opinions of the residents who were trained in the Thoracic Surgery Department in the University Hospitals and Research and Training Hospitals on thoracic surgery training.

Methods: A -19-question q uestionnaire including five open-ended questions was developed with the guidance of a survey which was published in the Medicine Speciality training, one of the publications of Turkish Medical Association, investigating opinions of the residents on residency training. The questionnaire was administered to 52 residents who were trained in Thoracic Surgery Department in seven health care centers. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS software.

Results: Twenty one (40.4%) of 52 respondents reported that they chose to be specialist on Thoracic Surgery, as they were interested. Eight respondents (15.4%) reported that they marked Thoracic Surgery speciality as fourth preference in the Medical Speciality Exam. Thirty two respondents (61.5%) stated that they were assigned to a training program, while 30 respondents (57.7%) reported that they were not trained by a teaching physician. Twenty five respondents (48.1%) defined the administration as hierarchical. A total of 67% of the respondents reported that the duration of residency was reasonable. Twenty nine respondents (55.7%) reported that senior residents were useful resource for them. The majority of the respondents (78.8%) replied to the question on working environment that they were working under stressful conditions.

Conclusion: Our study results support that no standard training program on Thoracic Surgery is available in residency in Turkey. We conclude that theoretical education is not being efficiently harmonized with training in clinical practice on a regular basis, beyond stressful working conditions.

Keywords : Survey; thoracic surgery assistants; training