What Are Organizations' Responsibilities When Surgeons Experience Regret?

Abstract

This article considers the nature and scope of health care organizations' responsibilities to respond to clinicians' regret experiences and suggests that one ethically important reason to do so is to mitigate burnout and prevent decreased patient access to skilled, experienced, and motivated surgeons. This article canvasses possible sources of regret experiences among surgeons and suggests strategies organizations can implement to help support surgeons experiencing regret and to help sustain surgeons' impulses to practice.