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Pierre Mendes da Costa, MD; Roger Detry, MD; Jacques Gruwez, MD; Luc Harper, MD; Patrick Rutten, MD

Arch Surg. 1999;134:569-574.

To fully understand the present state of surgery in Belgium, it is necessary to know the structure of the Belgian State, the type of education, the statutory health insurance system, and the professional bodies representing surgeons. One of the most important problems is the excessive number of physicians, which recently led to the establishment of limits on the number of candidates receiving medical certification. Surgical training modalities are described and the results of a retrospective study concerning the quality of training are detailed. The continuing medical education and peer-review system (accreditation) is presented.

From the Departments of Surgery, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Brugmann, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels (Drs Mendes da Costa and Harper), Cliniques Universitaires Saint-Luc, Université Catholique de Louvain, Louvain (Dr Detry), Universitaire Ziekenhuizen Leuven, Katolieke Universiteit Leuven, Louvain (Dr Gruwez), and Centre Hospitalier de L'Ardenne, Libramont (Dr Rutten), Belgium.