Mental Health, Wellbeing, and Burnout

The number and scope of research studies surrounding surgeon and patient wellness has seen significant growth in recent years, reflecting increased recognition of the importance of mental health and wellbeing.

The following papers are being offered in a collection to share insights into the unique challenges faced by surgeons, including patient mental health and wellbeing, as well as surgeon burnout - its causes, consequences, and potential solutions.

Episode 26: Contemporary Evaluation of Work-Life Integration and Well-being in US Surgical Residents: A National Mixed-Methods Study

In this episode, Tom Varghese, MD, MS, MBA, FACS, is joined by Lauren M. Janczewski, MD, MS, from Northwestern University, and Yue-Yung Hu, MD, MPH, FACS, from the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital and Northwestern Quality Improvement, Research, and Education in Surgery (NQUIRES). They discuss their recent article, “Contemporary Evaluation of Work-Life Integration and Well-being in US Surgical Residents: A National Mixed-Methods Study,” in which the authors found that parents and female residents were more likely to report work-life conflicts, which were associated with career dissatisfaction, burnout, thoughts of attrition, and suicidality. Qualitative data revealed work-life integration interventions: protecting health-maintenance time, supporting life outside of work, and allowing meaningful autonomy in scheduling.

Episode 23: Home Is Not Always Where the Sleep Is—The Effect of Home Call on Sleep, Burnout, and Surgeon Well-Being

In this episode, Tom Varghese, MD, FACS is joined by Jamie Coleman, MD, FACS, from the University of Louisville. They discuss Dr. Coleman’s recent article, “Home Is Not Always Where the Sleep Is: The Effect of Home Call on Sleep, Burnout, and Surgeon Well-Being,” which quantifies sleep loss and burnout associated with home call in acute care surgeons, emphasizing that there are both physical and emotional contributors to burnout.

Episode 15: Operationalizing the Culture of Burnout and Well-Being: Multicenter Study of Value Congruence and Flourishing in General Surgery Residency

In this episode, Dr. Jamie Coleman is joined by Carter Lebares, MD, FACS, from the Department of Surgery, University of California San Francisco. They discuss Dr. Lebares’ recent study at 16 academic general surgery training programs, in which residents indicated a perceived lack of value congruence with leadership regarding occupational well-being. Program directors expressed variable alignment with these perceptions. Value congruence was significantly associated with individual resident global well-being.