Changing patterns of lifelong learning
2.1
Piet G de Boer, Robert Fox
Pilot study stage 1—December 2009
At the opening session of every course taking place in the first week of the two-week event course participants were invited to attend an early morning focus group to be interviewed. The course chairman made this invitation orally. Participants were offered the incentive of a €50 voucher that could be redeemed for textbook purchase. Three hundred and fifty surgeons were invited. Twenty-six participants attended two focus group meetings. The surgeons interviewed were of varying degrees of experience. Thirteen of these 26 were experienced surgeons with more than 10 years postresidency experience. Four surgeons had between 5 and 10 years postgraduate experience. Five surgeons were in the first 5 years of independent practice and four surgeons were still in residency training.
Experience of interviewees Residents Less than 5 years from residency
4
5–10 years from residency
13
More than 10 years from residency
5
4
Figure 1 Career experience of participants in stage one of the pilot study.
The surgeons interviewed in the focus groups came from all parts of the world. Half of the attendees at the focus groups came from the Asia Pacific area, but within this group there were no representatives from the People’s Republic of China. The rest of the attendees at these focus group meetings were evenly distributed between Europe, North America, South America, and the Middle East.
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