25th RCOphth Congress, President's Session paper: 25 years of progress in surgical training.

Surgical training in ophthalmology has altered significantly over the last 25 years as a result of changes in technology, teaching methodology, and the recognition of the need for better structure and supervision. Along with this have evolved changes in curriculae and also in service delivery of our rapidly advancing specialty. Initial abandonment of time-based training has now reached the point of a slightly uneasy combination of a time- and competency-based structure, which will find firmer foundations in the near future. Simulation training and recognition of time spent in practising surgical skills will be important issues for future training programmes.