LAUSR

Over the last few years, surgical research collaboratives in the UK have demonstrated that both junior doctors and students alike have the capabilities and drive to deliver high quality, multicenter studies, setting a new standard for surgical research [1]. This collaborative model has been successfully translated internationally. For example, the GlobalSurg Collaborative has recruited over 25,000 patients worldwide across two studies [2, 3]. In 2016, Italian students and surgical trainees participated in EuroSurg-1, the first European student-driven surgical study, aiming to evaluate the impact of Body Mass Index on complications after major gastrointestinal surgery [4]. Overall, 149 students and trainees across 47 Italian hospitals have already taken part in these studies, being awarded co-authorship on all resulting papers. In Italy, some country-specific issues restrict students and junior doctors’ involvement in medical research: 1. Currently, Italian universities do not offer medical students an option of ‘‘intercalation’’, which would typically enable students to spend a year on a research project during their medical degree. 2. Student involvement in clinical research is largely underestimated in applications for training posts in residency programs. 3. Staff-grade level surgeons are appointed based on a quantitative rather than qualitative assessment of their research activity and publications. Frequently this does not consider the impact or potential significance of any research-based project. 4. Surgical Audits require full ethics approval, typically a slow process and a significant obstacle for students’ and trainees’ involvement. With no dedicated sections for review of observational studies, all proposals have to be submitted to the same Ethical Committees.