Surgeons’ dominant surgical modality: Impacts on wellbeing, burnout, and interventions for neuromusculoskeletal disorders

This study investigated the impact of surgical modalities on surgeon wellbeing with a focus on burnout, job satisfaction, and interventions used to address neuromusculoskeletal disorders (NMSDs). An electronic survey was sent to surgeons across an academic integrated multihospital system. The survey consisted of 47 questions investigating different aspects of surgeons’ wellbeing. Out of 245 thoracic and abdominopelvic surgeons, 79 surgeons (32.2 ​%) responded, and 65 surgeons (82 ​%) were able to be categorized as having a dominant surgical modality. Compared to robotic surgeons, laparoscopic (p ​= ​0.042) and open (p ​= ​0.012) surgeons reported more frequent feelings of burnout. The number of surgeons who used any treatment/intervention to minimize the operative discomfort/pain was lower for robotic surgeons than the other three modalities (all p ​