Unmasking the Silent Struggle: Second Victim Syndrome Among Surgeons

• Published in: The American journal of surgery 2024-03, Vol.229, p.3-4
• Main Authors: Whalen, Alison, Collins, Courtney
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Medical personnel; Mental disorders; Mental health; Peer tutoring; Surgeons; Surgery
• ISSN: 0002-9610; 1879-1883
• DOI: 10.1016/j.amjsurg.2023.11.018

Found that female surgeons are less likely to be respected by nurses and hospital staff compared to their male counterparts and feel at risk of occupational alienation due to staff undermining their professional reputation.3 When this already complex and stressful environment is combined with unexpected negative patient outcomes, these surgeons are much more likely to struggle with feelings of guilt, shame, and inadequacy, leading to potentially significant impacts on their mental health. Prior literature has found that many surgeons identify peer support as the most helpful4–7 however, some in this study even reported hesitation seeking out help form their colleagues due to the “competitive and stalwart culture of surgery”.1 The stoic ideology of surgery persists where after catastrophic outcomes, technical failures and minutia of intraoperative details are discussed ad nauseam, ignoring the surgeon may be silently screaming for help coping with their emotions instead of ways to improve their technical skills. Chong et al. shine light on an important phenomenon, Second Victim Syndrome, that is a major mental health concern among healthcare professionals, especially surgeons.