TY - JOUR
T1 - The colorectal surgeon's personality may influence the rectal anastomotic decision
AU - The Edinburgh Delphi Collaborative Group
AU - Moug, S. J.
AU - Henderson, N.
AU - Tiernan, J.
AU - Bisset, C. N.
AU - Ferguson, E.
AU - Harji, D.
AU - Maxwell-Armstrong, C.
AU - MacDermid, E.
AU - Acheson, A. G.
AU - Steele, R. J.C.
AU - Fearnhead, N. S.
AU - Abbott, Sarah
AU - Adedeji, Olufunso
AU - Anderson, Robert
AU - Armstrong, Aidan
AU - Arnott, Bob
AU - Arthur, Laura M.
AU - Bharathan, Bala
AU - Campbell, Ken
AU - Chapman, Mark
AU - Chaudhri, Sanjay
AU - Cook, Tim
AU - Cope, Alexandra
AU - Davies, Justin
AU - Dworkin, Michael
AU - Dawson, Peter
AU - Durai, Rajaraman
AU - El-Masry, Sherif
AU - Harikrishnan, Arthur
AU - Hawkin, Paul
AU - Helley, Michael
AU - Hompes, Roel
AU - Jayne, David
AU - Kapur, Sandeep
AU - Kelly, Seamus
AU - Kumar, Sandip
AU - Lacy-Colson, Jon
AU - Lieske, Bettina
AU - Maw, Andrew
AU - McDermott, Frank
AU - McLennan, Elizabeth
AU - McNair, Angus
AU - Miles, Andrew
AU - Muhammed, Alwahid
AU - McNaught, Clare
AU - Noyes, Andriy
AU - Payne, Christopher
AU - Peel, Natalie
AU - Perthiani, Haresh Kumar
AU - Roe, Alan
PY - 2018/11/1
Y1 - 2018/11/1
N2 - Aim: Colorectal surgeons regularly make the decision to anastomose, defunction or form an end colostomy when performing rectal surgery. This study aimed to define personality traits of colorectal surgeons and explore any influence of such traits on the decision to perform a rectal anastomosis. Method: Fifty attendees of The Association of Coloproctology of Great Britain and Ireland 2016 Conference participated. After written consent, all underwent personality testing: alexithymia (inability to understand emotions), type of thinking process (intuitive versus rational) and personality traits (extraversion, agreeableness, openness, emotional stability, conscientiousness). Questions were answered regarding anastomotic decisions in various clinical scenarios and results analysed to reveal any influence of the surgeon's personality on anastomotic decision. Results: Participants were: male (86%), consultants (84%) and based in England (68%). Alexithymia was low (4%) with 81% displaying intuitive thinking (reflex, fast). Participants scored higher in emotional stability (ability to remain calm) and conscientiousness (organized, methodical) compared with population norms. Personality traits influenced the next anastomotic decision if: surgeons had recently received criticism at a departmental audit meeting; were operating with an anaesthetist that was not their regular one; or there had been no anastomotic leaks in their patients for over 1 year. Conclusion: Colorectal surgeons have speciality relevant personalities that potentially influence the important decision to anastomose and could explain the variation in surgical practice across the UK. Future work should explore these findings in other countries and any link of personality traits to patient-related outcomes.
AB - Aim: Colorectal surgeons regularly make the decision to anastomose, defunction or form an end colostomy when performing rectal surgery. This study aimed to define personality traits of colorectal surgeons and explore any influence of such traits on the decision to perform a rectal anastomosis. Method: Fifty attendees of The Association of Coloproctology of Great Britain and Ireland 2016 Conference participated. After written consent, all underwent personality testing: alexithymia (inability to understand emotions), type of thinking process (intuitive versus rational) and personality traits (extraversion, agreeableness, openness, emotional stability, conscientiousness). Questions were answered regarding anastomotic decisions in various clinical scenarios and results analysed to reveal any influence of the surgeon's personality on anastomotic decision. Results: Participants were: male (86%), consultants (84%) and based in England (68%). Alexithymia was low (4%) with 81% displaying intuitive thinking (reflex, fast). Participants scored higher in emotional stability (ability to remain calm) and conscientiousness (organized, methodical) compared with population norms. Personality traits influenced the next anastomotic decision if: surgeons had recently received criticism at a departmental audit meeting; were operating with an anaesthetist that was not their regular one; or there had been no anastomotic leaks in their patients for over 1 year. Conclusion: Colorectal surgeons have speciality relevant personalities that potentially influence the important decision to anastomose and could explain the variation in surgical practice across the UK. Future work should explore these findings in other countries and any link of personality traits to patient-related outcomes.
KW - decision-making
KW - Rectal anastomosis
KW - surgeon personality
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85050532055&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1111/codi.14293
DO - 10.1111/codi.14293
M3 - Article (Academic Journal)
C2 - 29904991
AN - SCOPUS:85050532055
VL - 20
SP - 970
EP - 980
JO - Colorectal Disease
JF - Colorectal Disease
SN - 1462-8910
IS - 11
ER -