[Becoming a surgeon--at the university clinic].

The "surgeon's road" in an university department is marked by the demands of research, clinical work and teaching. The demands made by all 3 can hardly be met in the prescribed 6 years of training when adhering to the statutory 38.5 hours week. At present there are 1227 surgeons "on the road" at West German surgical departments (12% are women). Of these some 24% will reach a consultant post and less than 2% will become chairmen of a university department.