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07/15/2021 Jeffrey Smith, MD, FACS, PCC

Coaching Promotes Self-Advocacy for Surgeons

As surgeons, we are often on our own in a competitive, high risk environment. There are times when we are faced with: Being forced to do something

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Category iconAdvocacy,  Blog,  Jeff Smith,  Physician Coaching,  Wellness Tag iconAdvocacy,  Coaching,  Surgeon Coaching,  Surgeon Wellness

06/30/2021 Jeffrey Smith, MD, FACS, PCC

Two Breathing Techniques to Calm the Mind

There are a few obvious times in my life when I think about breathing - before swimming in the ocean, while practicing yoga, and prior to surgery as I

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Category iconBlog,  Exercise and Health,  Jeff Smith,  Wellness Tag iconBreathing Exercise,  Surgeon Wellness

06/10/2021 Muyibat Adelani MD

5 Tips for Selecting the Right Coach for You

Now that you’ve committed to coaching, it’s time to find a coach! Unfortunately, that’s often easier said than done. There are so many coaches out

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Category iconBlog,  Muyibat Adelani,  Physician Coaching Tag iconCoaching

05/27/2021 Jeffrey Smith, MD, FACS, PCC

Coaching Is a Prospective, Non-Randomized Path to Achievement

Surgeons and physicians face a unique set of challenges stemming from the system in which we operate, our surgical specialty, moral injury, and more.

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Category iconBlog,  Jeff Smith,  Performance Improvement Tag iconPerformance Improvement,  Surgeon Wellness

05/12/2021 Ryan Will MD

Cultivate Your Purpose

Medicine is challenging. The required skill set is difficult to become competent in, let alone master. That is one of the reasons I was attracted to

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Category iconBlog,  Performance Improvement,  Ryan Will Tag iconPerformance Improvement,  Surgeon Wellness

04/20/2021 Jeffrey Smith, MD, FACS, PCC

The Messenger Matters

Recently, I was presenting on the subjects of Surgeon Wellness and Peer Coaching when a friend and colleague on the faculty noted that he doesn’t like

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Category iconBlog,  Burnout Prevention,  Communication,  Wellness Tag iconburnout,  Surgeon Wellness,  Wellness

Toxic

03/26/2021 Jeffrey Smith, MD, FACS, PCC

Who are the Real Stewards of Surgeon Wellness?

Who bears the responsibility for the health and well-being of surgeons in the system? As surgeons, we operate in silos. Rarely are our teams

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Category iconBlog,  Jeff Smith,  Wellness Tag iconSurgeon Wellness,  Toxic System,  Wellness

03/11/2021 Jeffrey Smith, MD, FACS, PCC

Failing to Change a Habit? Reframe It!

We all deal with negative self-talk in some form or another throughout our daily lives. I often notice negative self-talk creep into my mind when I’m

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Category iconBlog,  Performance Improvement,  Wellness Tag iconSurgeon Wellness

02/26/2021 Jeffrey Smith, MD, FACS, PCC

Psychological Safety Combats Moral Injury

As a surgeon, psychological safety is largely absent from my work environment. As we address the changing landscape of healthcare, what if we really

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Category iconAdvocacy,  Blog,  Burnout Prevention,  Wellness Tag iconSurgeon Wellness

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Forum Description

As a surgeon, psychological safety is largely absent from my work environment. As we address the changing landscape of healthcare, what if we really embraced what this essential concept really means? We need to talk more about psychological safety in healthcare, as well as how it relates to moral injury in surgeons.

What is Psychological Safety?

Psychological safety is a feeling that one can be comfortable being oneself, and sharing opinions, concerns and mistakes without fears of shame, blame, or retribution. In essence, a psychologically safe workplace is an environment (or relationship) in which any healthcare professional, trainee, or team member is not afraid to speak their mind and offer honest feedback. 

Why is Psychological Safety a Challenge?

Psychological safety has been recognized within areas of patient safety and quality improvement, but more difficult to integrate into medicine for several reasons. Traditionally, medicine (and surgery in particular) holds onto many aspects of hierarchy and professionalism that provide inconsistent protections for quality patient care and teamwork. We have made some progress in recent years with individual leaders and isolated organizations or teams integrating a balanced perspective on psychological safety versus quality of care. We still have a long way to go. Recent research suggests that work satisfaction is not necessarily about the challenges or stresses of a job, but rather the inability to talk about those challenges with a peer who provides psychological safety.

How to Create a Psychologically Safe Workplace

So how do we go about creating workplaces with greater psychological safety? For the most part, the onus is on those in leadership and supervisory roles to develop a work culture in which trainees, healthcare professionals and surgeons feel comfortable speaking their minds. Not every clinical or professional situation will feel safe, particularly given the complexity, uncertainty, and ambiguity of medicine, surgery, healthcare, and patient conditions. 

To promote a psychologically safe workplace, healthcare leaders must create opportunities for team members to feel heard. One idea is to host regular “town hall” style meetings with team members and encourage them to offer constructive criticism and suggestions. We need to model constructive feedback and psychological safety as often as we can. Psychological safety exists when individuals feel comfortable taking calculated risks in the interests of patients, raise problems without fear of retribution, disagree but with mutual respect, ask questions to increase understanding, and admit mistakes that make us human.

Coaching and Psychological Safety

Coaching is another avenue to create a psychologically safe space. All too often we’re operating in silos with no one to bounce ideas off of or decompress from the stress and frustrations of the system. The moral injury we face from seemingly small transgressions can build up over time. While coaching can’t turn back the clock, a coach can listen empathically and offer a space to be heard and guide clients to manage moral injury. 

Whether you have such a work environment or not, join the SurgeonMasters community which is a psychologically safe place for surgeons to talk and work on solutions.

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