Episode 6: #Speakup Ortho and Ending Residency Harassment and Bullying
On this episode, Dr. Amy Vertrees talks with Dr. Arianna Gianakos, an orthopedic surgeon and advocate on abuse during surgical resident training.
She recently published a study on bullying, discrimination, harassment, sexual harassment, and the fear of retaliation during surgical residency training: a systematic review. The paper noted some shocking statistics:
37% of trainees experienced burnout
33% experienced anxiety or depression
71% decided not to report abusing behavior with over half concerned that they would experience retaliation
56% reported that they were retaliated against for reporting
Women were more likely to experience this behavior, which could prevent diversity in surgical specialties.
The paper can be found here:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35006329/
Dr. Arianna Gianakos is one of the founding members of #SpeakUpOrtho where she is leading a SpeakUp Coalition Call to Action Initiative with leaders in various medical specialties across the country aiming to improve the culture of residency training to effect policy change. She is a physician advocate in Physician Just Equity providing peer-support to physicians who experience workplace conflicts, through education, research, empowerment and advocacy while facilitating institutional culture change.
She discusses what we can do now:
- Define what constitutes unacceptable behavior
- Implement protocols for confidential reporting without fear of retaliation
- Third party of trained professional to have on staff
- Training sessions to be incorporated as part of mandatory education for faculty and residents
Physician Just Equity can be found here:
https://physicianjustequity.com/
The mission: Physician Just Equity exists to provide peer-support to physicians and surgeons in the United States who experience workplace conflicts, through education, research, empowerment and advocacy - Championing a Balanced Resolution - while facilitating institutional culture change that optimizes patient care.
#Speakup Ortho can be found here:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/speakuportho/
Twitter: #SpeakUpOrtho is an initiative to increase awareness of bias, inequities, and harassment within orthopaedic surgery.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/speakup.ortho
As a surgeon coach, I see the consequences of this abuse and how it has shaped our careers, our views about ourselves. It affects how we interact in our current practice. Join the BOSS Facebook group to see how we can start unraveling the experiences that are not helping us, and to learn strategies to let us be the best surgeons we can be without sacrificing ourselves, too.
www.BOSSsurgery.com
