The future of academic surgery--a consensus conference held at the Royal College of Surgeons of England, 2 September 2005.

A consensus conference organised by the Association of Surgeons of Great Britain and Ireland (ASGBI) and the Association of Surgeons of Training (ASIT) was held at the Royal College of Surgeons of England on 2 September 2005. All Specialist Advisory Committees and specialist associations were represented, except for orthopaedic surgery. The future of both academic surgery and training were discussed. We concluded that the European Working Time Directive, and Modernising Medical Careers are likely to have an adverse effect on future of research in oral and maxillofacial surgery. Most surgeons were concerned about the future of training and the development of surgery in general.