Blue Ribbon Committee II: Reports of the Subcommittees on the Optimization of Surgical Education and Training in the US Work-Life Integration, Resilience, and Wellness.

Abstract

Objective: Define recommendations for work-life integration and wellness and provide a pathway for supporting, teaching, and strengthening the skills needed to live as an authentic, empathic, compassionate, emotionally intelligent surgeon who provides the best care to patients.

Background: Burnout is common during surgical residency. It is important to assess how we are addressing the human needs of surgical trainees. We report the recommendations of the work-life integration, wellness, and resilience subcommittee of the Blue Ribbon Committee II.

Methods: We met monthly via a virtual format and established the needs of the surgical trainee according to Maslow Triangle. Barriers to meeting needs were identified, classified (local, state, national, etc.), and assigned to "easy" or "hard to address." Recommendations were developed for each Maslow Triangle level and organized into 1- to 2- and 3- to 5-year goals. The Blue Ribbon Committee II (BRCII) narrowed these down to 6 recommendations that were included in a Delphi Analysis with 80% consensus needed to be included in the BRCII paper.

Results: Six recommendations were developed by the BRCII and 4 met consensus. Final recommendations addressed resident wages, a culture of belonging, workplace safety, and reporting mistreatment.

Conclusions: Creating a culture of belonging by focusing on program culture through accountability, safety, and collaboration can lead surgical training programs to train highly successful surgeons.