Learning Surgery's Moral Questions: Mentorship, Reflection, and Professional Formation

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Surgical Ethics
• Qualitative Research

Background:

• Ethical dilemmas are inherent in surgical practice, posing significant challenges to trainees and experienced surgeons.
• Existing surgical training often lacks robust methods for teaching, modeling, and sustaining ethical reflection.
• The role of mentorship and informal learning in shaping ethical navigation within surgery requires further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine how ethical reflection is taught, modeled, and sustained within surgical training programs.
• To identify key themes and challenges related to ethical dilemmas encountered by surgeons.
• To explore the impact of mentorship and informal learning on surgeons' ethical development.

Main Methods:

• Qualitative study involving interviews with 30 surgeons across various subspecialties.
• Analysis of themes including moral distress, disclosure, and institutional culture.
• Conversational engagement with study authors, including a general surgeon/intensivist and a surgical resident.

Main Results:

• Mentorship and informal learning significantly influence how surgeons navigate moral complexity.
• Formal ethics curricula alone are insufficient for developing ethical awareness in surgical training.
• Themes of moral distress, disclosure, and institutional culture are prominent in surgeons' ethical experiences.

Conclusions:

• Surgical ethics education should integrate robust mentorship and informal learning alongside formal curricula.
• Reflective practice and mentorship are vital for sustaining ethical awareness in the high-pressure surgical environment.
• Developing surgical ethics curricula informed by qualitative findings can enhance professional formation.