A Stab in The Dark

Abstract

In most of classic surgical training programs, we have taught how to perform surgery, but we have not taught how to live as a surgeon. Surgeons share many personality characteristics with high achievers, and these characters lend themselves toward negative emotions and burnout. However, surgeons are also in a unique position to take advantages of on many aspects of happiness that they touch upon every day in their pursuit of helping people to feel better. As a group, surgeons need to be aware of and minimize the possible negative aspects of surgery-related inherent nature threatens. They must also be aware of happiness as a reality and explore all aspects of happiness in their professional and personal lives. Here, we tried to explore the potential stressors and their effects among the field of surgery. Finally, the coping strategies are addressed to make a clear view for application in the daily surgical practice. The value of this review to shed light in a dark-area in our surgical community. We hope that, it will present the topic in the heart of surgical teachers. Conclusion: Surgery related stressors are diverse and have significant risks. However, although we are aware by harmful effects of stressors, the coping strategies not gain the same value and actually did not taught explicitly during residential surgery training. This article presents a light in the dark about the harmful effects of stress on both physicians and their patients aiming to improve the coping strategies. It is also a voice to consider and include coping strategies in surgical curricula.