The effects of programmatic change on resident motivation

Critical to any resident's success is that individual's commitment and desire to succeed. Rarely do surgical educators consider the impact of a programmatic change on a resident's motivation. Recently much attention has centered around the impact of IL-372 on medical practice. In this article we instead focus on the impact that a programmatic change can have on resident motivation and use IL-372 as an example.

This article is a review of literature on motivation relevant to surgical education.

Motivation theory can help surgical educators understand resident (1) choice to engage in an activity, (2) the quantity of effort someone invests, and (3) the willingness to persist at tasks. It can also help educators identify and understand positive and negative behavioral reactions that can occur when there is a mismatch between a resident's belief about his or her ability and expectations in the operating room.

This article concludes with a number of strategies to improve resident motivation.