[Are you Alright? - Well-being, Stress and Surgical Training]

We all want to be well - in our private life, as well as at work. Current surveys however point towards an increasing Burn-out rate amongst young surgeons. The results suggest, that a relevant number of young colleagues suffer from critically low well-being. Within this article, we want to explore the current status of well-being and stress during surgical training.

An online survey was performed amongst the members of the "Berufsverband der Deutschen Chirurgie" who were still in residency training, that entailed various training related questions, as well as the WHO5 Well Being Index, and the Perceived Stress Scale.

Overall, 121 responses were recorded from 1200 members who were contacted (response rate 10.1%). More than 50% of the responses for the WHO-5 Well-Being Index were in the lower half of the response range. For the Perceived Stress Scale, approximately 20% of participants consistently ranked in the lowest two response categories for questions associated with both helplessness and self-efficacy.

The results suggest that a significant number of young colleagues suffer from a critically low well-being status. With this study, we wish to raise awareness for this important issue. The survey will be continued, in order to broaden the data base for further evaluation, and also to tailor specific offers for help.