Peer Support to Promote Surgeon Well-being: The APSA Program Experience
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Key Takeaways
- APSA launched a national peer support program in 2020 training surgeons to provide emotional first aid after adverse events or workplace distress
- Toxic work environments and adverse events were the most common reasons surgeons sought peer support through the program
- 50 pediatric surgeons completed peer supporter training; over 80% applied skills informally with colleagues, partners, and trainees
- Peer support programs are feasible and effective for helping surgeons process trauma and recover from distressing workplace experiences
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Can a peer support program be feasible and effective to support pediatric surgeons who experience emotional distress after traumatic events or toxic work environments? I'm Lizzie Lee from Cincinnati Children's Hospital, and this is an article that you should know about. The American Pediatric Surgical Association or the APSA created a peer support program for pediatric surgeons in 2020. This article talks about how they implemented it, the experiences they had, and outcomes. Their goal was to support surgeons after traumatic events. The most common referral reasons were toxic work environments and adverse events. 50 surgeons total agreed to receive training on how to be a supporter. Over 80% were able to use these peer support skills informally with colleagues, partners, and trainees. The peer support program shows that this type of support system can work really well to help surgeons heal from traumatic experiences and toxic work environments. Let us know what you think in the comments below and stay tuned for more articles that you should know about.