theatre and surgery
Stress immunity in surgeons
Stress immunity is an important personality trait of doctors, with a high representation seen in surgery. With one in five surgeons dropping out of training and 80 % reporting burnout symptoms, methods to increase job satisfaction and reduce burnout are required
James Pegrum MBBS BSc( Orthopaedics) MSc( Sports Medicine) Diploma Mtn Med FRCS( Trauma & Orthopaedics) Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre, Oxford, UK; Honorary Research Associate Centre for Sport & Exercise Medicine Queen Mary’ s University London, UK
Robert McCulloch MRCS MBChB PGDME Trauma and Orthopaedic Department Stoke Mandeville Hospital, Aylesbury, UK
Oliver Pearce FRCS( Trauma & Orthopaedics) Visiting Professor Bedford University; Trauma and Orthopaedic Consultant, Milton Keynes NHS Foundation Trust, UK
In surgery, we are all too quick to judge the psychology of our patients; however, understanding our own personality is essential to optimise our own performance. Our surgical decision-making requires the ability to judge the patient’ s personality, while simultaneously understanding our own character and temperament, to allow a patient-centred consultation and consent for surgery.
The psychological traits of a surgeon It is estimated that the prevalence of a psychopathic personality trait within the general population is approximately 1 %, however within the world of finance, it rises to 3.5 % and is even higher among leaders. 1 Surgeons are subjected to a high level of psychiatric morbidity with various factors presented in the literature; long working hours, 2, 3 working night shifts, divorce, 4 medical lawsuits 5 or failing to meet continuing medical demands. 6 It will therefore not be too surprising to find out that some of the traits associated with a psychopathic personality, such as preternatural calmness under pressure, and an apparent indifference to human suffering when making life or death decisions, are perhaps selected out in those who rise to the top of our profession.
There are traits of a subclinical psychopathy that may benefit the surgical field. These positive personality traits include good relationships with others, social desirability and honesty. Subclinical psychopathy also includes less desirable Machiavellian tendencies that may represent a rejection of an absolute moral standard rather
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