If you are a surgeon involved in the education of residents, please take a moment to read this. Progressive autonomy in surgical education is absolutely critical to the development of competent independent surgeons at the time of graduation. Even if you have a high percentage of residents who are entering fellowships after completion of their five year general surgery residency, you do them a disservice if they cannot independently operate as a general surgeon at that point. I still distinctly remember the day and case that the switch flipped for me as a resident. Nothing changes your mindset about case preparation, technical development and, most importantly, patient ownership like independently performing the most critical, “no going back”, components of a major surgery. While the level of autonomy you offer any individual resident will differ based on their skillset, knowledge, and trust that you develop in that relationship, they are depending on you to continue to push them toward new levels of competence and independence. Is it stressful? Yes, it can be. Is it sometimes painful to spend much more time allowing a trainee to struggle through a case when you know you could take over and get it done quickly? Yes, it can be. But as long as the patient is safe, and the resident is demonstrating sound judgment and knowledge, letting them worry and making them make hard decisions and think forward and develop plans and struggle on a technique that needs work (e.g. laparoscopic suturing), will result in the most rapid acceleration of their capabilities, confidence, and ownership of their patients. Filling their brains with facts and protocols is easy, this is hard. But it’s exponentially more rewarding when you witness their progress. Do the hard part. They will thank you. Their future patients will too;)
While I’m on the topic, a huge “Thank You!” to all my surgical mentors over the years. I have been blessed to hear your words (encouraging and critical alike) and your voices still echo inside me on a daily basis. I am better because you did the hard work.
Preserving and Enhancing Resident Autonomy—Strategies for Surgical Educators, a JAMA Surgery Viewpoint
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Expert in MedTech StartUps and Surgical Robotics. And F'in good at it. AI - digital health - endovascular robotics - neurovascular robotics - cardiac robotics - future of healthcare. NED - Board Advisor - investor
6moStrongly agree. Well done to Gary Guthart and the entire Intuitive team. On this type of launch - Leadership starts at the top.