{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,26]],"date-time":"2026-05-26T10:06:15Z","timestamp":1779789975871,"version":"3.53.1"},"reference-count":19,"publisher":"SAGE Publications","issue":"7","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,3]],"date-time":"2026-02-03T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1770076800000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/page\/policies\/text-and-data-mining-license"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["journals.sagepub.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["The American Surgeon\u2122"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,7]]},"abstract":"<jats:p>The Psychology of Surgery: An Initial Inquiry Into What Practicing Surgeons Think is Important to Know From Psychology. Abstract Background: There is growing interest in potential contributions psychological science can make to the practice of surgery. However, as an expansive field, selecting relevant content for education and training can be challenging. We surveyed practicing surgeons to assess their perception of the most relevant psychological topics and their mastery for excellence in a surgical career and care. Methods: A list of surgery-related psychological topics was generated from content in the surgical literature and from experience. They were then reviewed by subject matter experts. The survey was distributed to attending surgeons who rated each item\u2019s importance and also their degree of mastery (from 0 low to 7 high). Results: Twenty-three surgeons of various subspecialties participated. Topics of highest importance had mean scores approaching the highest potential rating of 7. Qualitative analysis suggested 4 categorical themes: coping with difficult events, communication skills, leadership skills, and psychological performance skills. A significant correlation was found between ratings of importance and mastery, but mean ratings of mastery were significantly lower than ratings of importance. Discussion: This study found that practicing surgeons endorse a large number of psychological topics as being of high importance in surgical practice. However, ratings of mastery were significantly lower than ratings of importance. These findings suggest the need for training and education in the psychology of surgery for surgeons and surgical residents and provide potential targets for such training.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1177\/00031348261422206","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,3]],"date-time":"2026-02-03T13:41:40Z","timestamp":1770126100000},"page":"2004-2009","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/sage-journals-update-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["An Initial Inquiry Into What Practicing Surgeons Think is Important to Know From Psychology"],"prefix":"10.1177","volume":"92","author":[{"given":"Jonathon J.","family":"Peters","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"UPMC Central Pennsylvania Region"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9245-9067","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Michael J.","family":"Asken","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"UPMC Central Pennsylvania Region"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"179","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,3]]},"reference":[{"key":"e_1_3_4_2_2","volume-title":"The Surgical Mindset: Increasing Interest in Mental Skills for Training, Performance Excellence","author":"Asken M","year":"2021","unstructured":"Asken M, Morgan E, Owens R. The Surgical Mindset: Increasing Interest in Mental Skills for Training, Performance Excellence. General Surgery News; 2021. https:\/\/www.generalsurgerynews.com\/Opinion\/Article\/12-21\/The-Surgical-Mindset\/65535"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_3_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1097\/SLA.0000000000003573"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_4_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1007\/978-3-319-91164-9"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_5_2","volume-title":"SIM: The Surgeon\u2019s Imagery Mindset: Performance Enhancing Mental Imagery and the Optimization of Surgical Skill","author":"Asken MJ","year":"2020","unstructured":"Asken MJ, Yang HC. SIM: The Surgeon\u2019s Imagery Mindset: Performance Enhancing Mental Imagery and the Optimization of Surgical Skill. 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Acceptance and commitment therapy-based intervention to improve psychological skills and resilience in surgical trainees: a randomised waitlist-controlled trial. BMC Surg. 2025;25(1):315. Published 2025 Jul 28. doi:10.1186\/s12893-025-03059-5urgical Instruction. J Surg Educ. 2025;82(9):103594. doi:10.1016\/j.jsurg.2025.103594.","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jsurg.2025.103594"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_13_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jsurg.2025.103631"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_14_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1097\/SLA.0000000000004118"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_15_2","article-title":"Optimizing the patient for surgery: the Pre-Op psychological survey","author":"Asken M","year":"2021","unstructured":"Asken M, Ladie D. Optimizing the patient for surgery: the Pre-Op psychological survey. General Surgery News. 2021. https:\/\/www.generalsurgerynews.com\/Opinion\/Article\/11-21\/Patient-Optimization\/65241","journal-title":"General Surgery News"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_16_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1097\/SLA.0000000000003180"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_17_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jsurg.2020.04.002"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_18_2","unstructured":"Bowman R. The psychology of surgery. https:\/\/medicine.iu.edu\/blogs\/surgery\/the-psychology-of-surgery 5 March 2019."},{"key":"e_1_3_4_19_2","volume-title":"The Surgical Muse Matrix: An Initial Model for Surgical Excellence","author":"Asken M","year":"2022","unstructured":"Asken M, Owens S, Ladie D. The Surgical Muse Matrix: An Initial Model for Surgical Excellence. 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