Majed W El Hechi1, Jordan D Bohnen1, Maggie Westfal1, Kelsey Han2, Christy Cauley3, Cameron Wright2, John Schulz2, Elizabeth Mort2, Timothy Ferris2, Keith D Lillemoe2, Haytham Ma Kaafarani4. 1. Department of Surgery, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA. 2. Department of Surgery, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA; Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA. 3. Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH. 4. Department of Surgery, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA; Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA; Center for Outcomes and Patient Safety in Surgery (COMPASS), Massachusetts General Surgery, Boston, MA. Electronic address: hkaafarani@mgh.harvard.edu.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Surgeons are prone to feelings of sadness, guilt, and anxiety when involved in major adverse events. We aimed to create and evaluate a second victim peer support program for surgeons and surgical trainees. STUDY DESIGN: The second victim peer support program was an intervention performed in the Department of Surgery at a tertiary care academic medical center. Surgical attendings and trainees participated as peer supporters or affected peers. In this article, we describe the design of the program and its 1-year impact, which was evaluated through the number of interventions attempted and realized and feedback received from all participants using an anonymous qualitative and quantitative survey. RESULTS: The program was established using the following 5 steps: creation of a conceptual framework, choice of peer supporters, training of peer supporters, multifaceted identification of major adverse events, and design of a systematic intervention plan. In 1 year, the program had 47 interventions distributed evenly between attendings and trainees; 19% of affected peers opted out of receiving support. Most participants expressed satisfaction with the program's confidentiality, the safe/trusting environment it provided, and the timeliness of the intervention (89%, 73%, and 83%, respectively); 81% suggested that the program had a positive impact on the department's "safety and support" culture and would recommend the program to a colleague. Several areas for improvement were identified, including the need to improve identification of events requiring outreach, and the desire for increased awareness of the program throughout the department. CONCLUSIONS: We successfully designed, implemented, and assessed the impact of the first surgery-specific peer support program in the US. Our 1-year experience suggests that the program is highly used and well received, albeit with opportunities for improvement.
BACKGROUND: Surgeons are prone to feelings of sadness, guilt, and anxiety when involved in major adverse events. We aimed to create and evaluate a second victim peer support program for surgeons and surgical trainees. STUDY DESIGN: The second victim peer support program was an intervention performed in the Department of Surgery at a tertiary care academic medical center. Surgical attendings and trainees participated as peer supporters or affected peers. In this article, we describe the design of the program and its 1-year impact, which was evaluated through the number of interventions attempted and realized and feedback received from all participants using an anonymous qualitative and quantitative survey. RESULTS: The program was established using the following 5 steps: creation of a conceptual framework, choice of peer supporters, training of peer supporters, multifaceted identification of major adverse events, and design of a systematic intervention plan. In 1 year, the program had 47 interventions distributed evenly between attendings and trainees; 19% of affected peers opted out of receiving support. Most participants expressed satisfaction with the program's confidentiality, the safe/trusting environment it provided, and the timeliness of the intervention (89%, 73%, and 83%, respectively); 81% suggested that the program had a positive impact on the department's "safety and support" culture and would recommend the program to a colleague. Several areas for improvement were identified, including the need to improve identification of events requiring outreach, and the desire for increased awareness of the program throughout the department. CONCLUSIONS: We successfully designed, implemented, and assessed the impact of the first surgery-specific peer support program in the US. Our 1-year experience suggests that the program is highly used and well received, albeit with opportunities for improvement.
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