The Impact of Patient Deaths on General Surgeons’ Psychosocial Well-Being and Surgical Practices
BackgroundPatient deaths are an unavoidable occurrence in surgical practice. Although these events have negative effects on patients and their families, they can also have a profound adverse impact on surgeons who are unprepared for these deep emotional experiences. This study aims to investigate th...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2022-04-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Surgery |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsurg.2022.898274/full |
| _version_ | 1828367564177145856 |
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| author | Cihangir Akyol Suleyman Utku Celik Suleyman Utku Celik Mehmet Ali Koc Duygu Sezen Bayindir Mehmet Ali Gocer Buket Karakurt Mustafa Kaya Sena Nur Kekec Furkan Aydin Simsek |
| author_facet | Cihangir Akyol Suleyman Utku Celik Suleyman Utku Celik Mehmet Ali Koc Duygu Sezen Bayindir Mehmet Ali Gocer Buket Karakurt Mustafa Kaya Sena Nur Kekec Furkan Aydin Simsek |
| author_sort | Cihangir Akyol |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | BackgroundPatient deaths are an unavoidable occurrence in surgical practice. Although these events have negative effects on patients and their families, they can also have a profound adverse impact on surgeons who are unprepared for these deep emotional experiences. This study aims to investigate the impact of patient deaths on general surgeons’ psychosocial well-being and surgical practices.MethodsA national cross-sectional survey of a 30-item questionnaire was conducted. The survey evaluated the surgeons’ demographics, professional and practice characteristics, and the impact of patient deaths on their emotional well-being, professional career, and social life.ResultsFour hundred eighty participants completed the survey. One-third of the participants reported that patient deaths affected their emotional well-being, 23.3% reported that patient deaths affected their social life, and 34.2% reported that patient deaths affected their professional career. Surgeons who reported suffering from the emotional impact of death exhibited no differences in terms of place of practice, academic title, surgical experience, work hours, or annual surgical volume. Middle-aged surgeons (p = 0.004), females (p = 0.041), and surgeons who reported feeling burned out (p < 0.001) were more likely to be affected by patient loss. Feelings of sadness, worry, and stress were most reported. A total of 18.1% of the participants indicated that they considered taking a break after patient death, and 11.9% thought they would abandon their surgical career.ConclusionsThe findings of this study suggest that patient death affects surgeons’ psychosocial well-being and surgical practices. Greater awareness and effort are required at the personal, institutional, and organizational level to provide effective support, helping surgeons to cope with the emotional burden of patient deaths. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-14T05:59:27Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-fee9f767c1da46e981958c130de23afa |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2296-875X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-14T05:59:27Z |
| publishDate | 2022-04-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Surgery |
| spelling | doaj.art-fee9f767c1da46e981958c130de23afa2022-12-22T02:08:50ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Surgery2296-875X2022-04-01910.3389/fsurg.2022.898274898274The Impact of Patient Deaths on General Surgeons’ Psychosocial Well-Being and Surgical PracticesCihangir Akyol0Suleyman Utku Celik1Suleyman Utku Celik2Mehmet Ali Koc3Duygu Sezen Bayindir4Mehmet Ali Gocer5Buket Karakurt6Mustafa Kaya7Sena Nur Kekec8Furkan Aydin Simsek9Department of General Surgery, Ankara University School of Medicine, Ankara, TurkeyDepartment of General Surgery, Ankara University School of Medicine, Ankara, TurkeyDepartment of General Surgery, Gulhane Training and Research Hospital, Ankara, TurkeyDepartment of General Surgery, Ankara University School of Medicine, Ankara, TurkeyDepartment of General Surgery, Ankara University School of Medicine, Ankara, TurkeyDepartment of General Surgery, Ankara University School of Medicine, Ankara, TurkeyDepartment of General Surgery, Ankara University School of Medicine, Ankara, TurkeyDepartment of General Surgery, Ankara University School of Medicine, Ankara, TurkeyDepartment of General Surgery, Ankara University School of Medicine, Ankara, TurkeyDepartment of General Surgery, Ankara University School of Medicine, Ankara, TurkeyBackgroundPatient deaths are an unavoidable occurrence in surgical practice. Although these events have negative effects on patients and their families, they can also have a profound adverse impact on surgeons who are unprepared for these deep emotional experiences. This study aims to investigate the impact of patient deaths on general surgeons’ psychosocial well-being and surgical practices.MethodsA national cross-sectional survey of a 30-item questionnaire was conducted. The survey evaluated the surgeons’ demographics, professional and practice characteristics, and the impact of patient deaths on their emotional well-being, professional career, and social life.ResultsFour hundred eighty participants completed the survey. One-third of the participants reported that patient deaths affected their emotional well-being, 23.3% reported that patient deaths affected their social life, and 34.2% reported that patient deaths affected their professional career. Surgeons who reported suffering from the emotional impact of death exhibited no differences in terms of place of practice, academic title, surgical experience, work hours, or annual surgical volume. Middle-aged surgeons (p = 0.004), females (p = 0.041), and surgeons who reported feeling burned out (p < 0.001) were more likely to be affected by patient loss. Feelings of sadness, worry, and stress were most reported. A total of 18.1% of the participants indicated that they considered taking a break after patient death, and 11.9% thought they would abandon their surgical career.ConclusionsThe findings of this study suggest that patient death affects surgeons’ psychosocial well-being and surgical practices. Greater awareness and effort are required at the personal, institutional, and organizational level to provide effective support, helping surgeons to cope with the emotional burden of patient deaths.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsurg.2022.898274/fullburnout – professionaldeath & dyingemotional distressgeneral surgerywell-beingpsychosocial support |
| spellingShingle | Cihangir Akyol Suleyman Utku Celik Suleyman Utku Celik Mehmet Ali Koc Duygu Sezen Bayindir Mehmet Ali Gocer Buket Karakurt Mustafa Kaya Sena Nur Kekec Furkan Aydin Simsek The Impact of Patient Deaths on General Surgeons’ Psychosocial Well-Being and Surgical Practices Frontiers in Surgery burnout – professional death & dying emotional distress general surgery well-being psychosocial support |
| title | The Impact of Patient Deaths on General Surgeons’ Psychosocial Well-Being and Surgical Practices |
| title_full | The Impact of Patient Deaths on General Surgeons’ Psychosocial Well-Being and Surgical Practices |
| title_fullStr | The Impact of Patient Deaths on General Surgeons’ Psychosocial Well-Being and Surgical Practices |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Impact of Patient Deaths on General Surgeons’ Psychosocial Well-Being and Surgical Practices |
| title_short | The Impact of Patient Deaths on General Surgeons’ Psychosocial Well-Being and Surgical Practices |
| title_sort | impact of patient deaths on general surgeons psychosocial well being and surgical practices |
| topic | burnout – professional death & dying emotional distress general surgery well-being psychosocial support |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsurg.2022.898274/full |
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