Why the surgical backlog starts with how surgeons are trained

Surgical training still runs on the model it did decades ago. Everything around it has changed. Danny Goel walks you through what that mismatch costs. He is an orthopedic surgeon, and this episode is based on his article "In 2026, the surgical backlog has a training bottleneck," published on KevinMD. You will hear why he counts surgeons themselves as a constraint on capacity, alongside operating rooms, beds, and funding, once residents have shorter hours in the hospital, operating rooms are under pressure to be efficient, and cases move to outpatient centers. He explains why cadaver labs, single-purpose simulators, and industry-funded courses have not closed the gap, and why graduates now add fellowship years on top of residency. He describes the simulation company he co-founded, which puts residents in a virtual operating room where mistakes carry no cost. He also tells patients exactly what to ask a surgeon. Stay to the end for his warning that exposure is not competence.

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