Spirituality and Surgical Education: Beliefs and Practices Among General Surgery Program Directors

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Surgical Training
• Spirituality in Healthcare

Background:

• Religious beliefs and spirituality play a significant role in patient well-being and decision-making.
• The integration of spiritual care within medical training, particularly in surgical fields, is an emerging area of focus.

Purpose of the Study:

• To characterize the perceptions of religious beliefs and spirituality among program directors in general surgery training.
• To assess the current practices and attitudes of program directors regarding spiritual care in residency education.

Main Methods:

• An anonymous, voluntary, web-based survey was administered to US general surgery program directors.
• The survey included 33 questions covering demographics and perceptions of religious beliefs and spirituality in residency training.

Main Results:

• Program directors reported religious diversity mirroring the US population.
• A majority of program directors (59.2%) engage in private prayer or meditation.
• Over half (53.7%) believe prayer can influence patient outcomes, and 59.3% have prayed with patients.
• All program directors believe residents should learn to address patients' spiritual needs and that prayer/meditation are important to patients.

Conclusions:

• Program directors highly value spirituality within general surgery residency training.
• There is a consensus on the importance of addressing patients' spiritual needs and incorporating this into surgical education.
• Intentional efforts are recommended to integrate spiritual care considerations into general surgery residency programs.