Should Surgeons Share Experiences of Regret With Patients?
Regret is ubiquitous in surgical practice and emphasizes the nature and breadth of surgeons' responsibilities to patients and colleagues. Expressing regret to patients requires transparent and honest communication but can leave surgeons vulnerable. This article recommends strategies for communicating regret to patients and suggests how organizations and colleagues can help surgeons trying to cope with regret experiences continue their professional growth.
Authors
- Carter C. Lebares (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4522-1301)
- Michael H Berler (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0812-6295)
- Paul Adam Gonzales (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1964-2866)
- Feyisayo Ojute (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0005-0914-8583)
- Yash V. Shroff
- Steven Molina
- Anna S Bresler
Institutions
- University of California, Riverside (US)
- Boston Medical Center (US)
- White Memorial Medical Center (US)
- University of California, San Francisco (US)
- University of San Francisco (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- The AMA Journal of Ethic
- Published
- 2025-03-01
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1001/amajethics.2025.207
- Primary Topic
- Clinical Reasoning and Diagnostic Skills
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00