Patient care is a collective responsibility: Perceptions of professional responsibility in surgery

The findings suggest professional responsibility is a much more complex construct characterized by competing responsibilities and an evolving perception of patient care as a collective responsibility that sets the stage for educational interventions to support residents' professional development and enhance cooperative behavior among participants.

Abstract

Traditional medical ethics have largely focused on professional responsibility from the standpoint of individual healthcare providers. Our findings suggest it is a much more complex construct characterized by competing responsibilities and an evolving perception of patient care as a collective responsibility. Explicit acknowledgment of this framework sets the stage for educational interventions to support residents' professional development and enhance cooperative behavior among participants.