> But how will your words sound to somebody who has their surgery next week and is really nervous?

For what it's worth, I understood what they meant. Not necessarily the particulars but I knew that they meant under full supervision, after years of rigorous teaching and with very minor and routine procedures.

If you're never given the opportunity to practice, you'll never learn. I'd rather trainee doctors practice during their placements rather than only ever observe and then be thrown in the deep end when they qualify.