• Michaela C Bamdad, Crystal Ann Vitous, Samantha J Rivard, Maia Anderson, Alisha Lussiez, Ana De Roo, Michael J Englesbe, and Pasithorn A Suwanabol.
• Center for Healthcare Outcomes and Policy, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI.
• Ann. Surg. 2023 Aug 1; 278 (2): e422e428e422-e428.

ObjectiveTo explore how surgery residents cope with unwanted patient outcomes including postoperative complications and death.BackgroundSurgery residents face a variety of work-related stressors that require them to engage in coping strategies. Postoperative complications and deaths are common sources of such stressors. Although few studies examine the response to these events and their impacts on subsequent decision-making, there has been little scholarly work exploring coping strategies among surgery residents specifically.MethodsThis study investigated the ways, in which general surgery residents cope with unwanted patient outcomes, including complications and deaths. Mid-level and senior residents (n = 28) from 14 academic, community, and hybrid training programs across the United States participated in exploratory semistructured interviews conducted by an experienced anthropologist. Interview transcripts were analyzed iteratively, informed by thematic analysis.ResultsWhen discussing how they cope with complications and deaths, residents described both internal and external strategies. Internal strategies included a sense of inevitability, compartmentalization of emotions or experiences, thoughts of forgiveness, and beliefs surrounding resilience. External strategies included support from colleagues and mentors, commitment to change, and personal practices or rituals, such as exercise or psychotherapy.ConclusionsIn this novel qualitative study, general surgery residents described the coping strategies that they organically used after postoperative complications and deaths. To improve resident well-being, it is critical to first understand the natural coping processes. Such efforts will facilitate structuring future support systems to aid residents during these difficult periods.Copyright © 2023 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.

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