How I Do It: Avoiding the Cognitive Trap Fundamentals of Surgery Curriculum

Abstract

Objective

To describe the cognitive trap and introduce a structured, scenario-based educational tool designed to help surgical trainees recognize and respond to patient and family emotions in clinical interactions.

Design

Descriptive report of a communication skill and novel training tool for improving emotional attunement in surgical patient care.

Setting

This educational tool was developed for use in learning environments, including residency training programs. It has been integrated into the Fundamentals of Communication in Surgery (FCS) curriculum, which is currently being piloted across diverse general surgery residency programs in the United States. Participating institutions include academic, community, and hybrid training sites to allow for evaluation in a range of real-world clinical education settings.

Participants

Surgical learners.

Results

Surgeons fall into the cognitive trap when they respond to emotionally driven patient or family questions with cognitive or logistical information, missing opportunities for connection. A scenario-based card game was developed to help learners practice identifying emotional cues and crafting empathetic responses before providing technical information. Facilitated group discussion reinforces the recognition of emotions and enables real-time feedback. This tool promotes awareness, deliberate practice, and increased fluency in emotionally attuned communication.

Conclusions

Avoiding the cognitive trap is a teachable skill that enhances therapeutic relationships in surgical care. Our scenario-based, gamified exercise offers a scalable method to teach empathy-driven communication and has been integrated into a national curriculum for surgical residents.