Duke's General Surgery Residency Program on probation

Duke University Medical Center's general surgery residency program is on probation after an accrediting organization found seven problem areas in Duke's training of the specialists.

Probation means Duke's system for training doctors specializing in general surgery can proceed while officials make the necessary corrections, pending another visit by the inspection team within the next two years.

But Duke's 69 surgical residents, and those seeking future slots in Duke's five- to seven-year training program, must be told about the school's probationary status as long as it's in effect.

A spokeswoman for the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education said only six and a half percent of the 8,000 medical residency programs in the country face such sanctions.

8/17/2004 11:38 AM
By: Associated Press