{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,29]],"date-time":"2026-08-29T11:31:03Z","timestamp":1788003063236,"version":"build-2784847793"},"reference-count":27,"publisher":"SAGE Publications","issue":"9","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,5]],"date-time":"2026-05-05T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1777939200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc\/4.0\/"},{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,5]],"date-time":"2026-05-05T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1777939200000},"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":[[2026,9]]},"abstract":"<jats:p>The morbidity and mortality (M&amp;M) conference is a foundational tradition in surgery, serving as a forum for education, accountability, and patient safety for more than a century. Originally rooted in early efforts to track outcomes and improve hospital efficiency, M&amp;M has evolved alongside major developments in surgical education, quality improvement, and patient safety science. This review traces the historical evolution of the M&amp;M conference from Ernest Codman\u2019s end-result system to its institutionalization by the American College of Surgeons and formalization in graduate medical education. It examines the cultural shift from individual blame toward systems-based learning, highlights the influence of the patient safety movement, educational theory, and human factors science, and reviews contemporary approaches incorporating data analytics, multidisciplinary participation, and technology. Persistent challenges including variability in structure, underreporting, and medicolegal concerns along with future opportunities to strengthen M&amp;M as a driver of continuous improvement are discussed. Despite ongoing evolution, the core purpose of honest reflection in service of safer and higher-quality surgical care in M&amp;M remains unchanged.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1177\/00031348261448909","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,5]],"date-time":"2026-05-05T10:37:08Z","timestamp":1777977428000},"page":"2243-2248","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/sage-journals-update-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":2,"title":["Evolution of the Morbidity and Mortality Conference in Surgery: From Codman to Contemporary Practice"],"prefix":"10.1177","volume":"92","author":[{"given":"Samuel","family":"Torres-Landa","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Surgery, University of North Carolina"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9528-2087","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Timothy M.","family":"Farrell","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Surgery, University of North Carolina"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"179","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,5]]},"reference":[{"key":"e_1_3_3_2_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1503\/cjs.009219"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_3_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1525-1497.2006.00523.x"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_4_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1007\/s11606-022-07499-0"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_5_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1097\/ACM.0000000000003901"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_6_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ejim.2012.11.002"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_7_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1109\/MPUL.2012.2184431"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_8_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/00031348231152906"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_9_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1007\/s11999-012-2751-3"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_10_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/S0140-6736(09)61083-7"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_11_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.5858\/arpa.2016-0348-HP"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_12_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1001\/jamasurg.2023.4672"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_13_2","volume-title":"Forgive and Remember: Managing Medical Failure","author":"Bosk CL","year":"1979","unstructured":"Bosk CL. Forgive and Remember: Managing Medical Failure. University of Chicago Press; 1979."},{"key":"e_1_3_3_14_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1148\/rg.245045020"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_15_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1136\/leader-2020-000360"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_16_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/medu.12947"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_17_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jamcollsurg.2006.07.010"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_18_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1001\/jama.1994.03520230061039"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_19_2","volume-title":"Committee on Quality of Health Care in America. to Err is Human: Building a Safer Health System","author":"Institute of Medicine (US)","year":"1999","unstructured":"Institute of Medicine (US). Committee on Quality of Health Care in America. to Err is Human: Building a Safer Health System. National Academies Press, 1999."},{"key":"e_1_3_3_20_2","volume-title":"To Err is Human: Building a Safer Health System","author":"Kohn LT","year":"2000","unstructured":"Kohn LT, Corrigan JM, Donaldson MS, eds. To Err is Human: Building a Safer Health System. National Academies Press, 2000."},{"key":"e_1_3_3_21_2","volume-title":"Complications: A Surgeon\u2019s Notes on an Imperfect Science","author":"Gawande A","year":"2010","unstructured":"Gawande A. Complications: A Surgeon\u2019s Notes on an Imperfect Science. Profile Books; 2010."},{"key":"e_1_3_3_22_2","volume-title":"The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right","author":"Gawande A","year":"2009","unstructured":"Gawande A. The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right. Metropolitan Books; 2009."},{"key":"e_1_3_3_23_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1056\/NEJMsa052049"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_24_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jsurg.2011.02.002"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_25_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jss.2018.07.059"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_26_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jpedsurg.2024.02.009"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_27_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.4300\/JGME-D-15-00737.1"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_28_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jsurg.2024.07.018"}],"container-title":["The American Surgeon\u2122"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/pdf\/10.1177\/00031348261448909","content-type":"application\/pdf","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/full-xml\/10.1177\/00031348261448909","content-type":"application\/xml","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/pdf\/10.1177\/00031348261448909","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,29]],"date-time":"2026-07-29T06:19:44Z","timestamp":1785305984000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/10.1177\/00031348261448909"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,5]]},"references-count":27,"journal-issue":{"issue":"9","published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,9]]}},"alternative-id":["10.1177\/00031348261448909"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/00031348261448909","relation":{},"ISSN":["0003-1348","1555-9823"],"issn-type":[{"value":"0003-1348","type":"print"},{"value":"1555-9823","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,5]]}}}