There are over 250 surgical residencies in the United States. Most residents experience some degree of shock once they start on the very first day, and the demands of residency are high. The current overall dropout rate is 16%, and there is evidence for higher burnout rates, suicide rates, addiction rates and divorce rates among all surgeons compared to other careers. There is therefore a critical need for the education of resiliency during surgical residency and guidance on surviving this challenging portion of their career. Unfortunately, the experiences of trial and error are the basis for survival, and resiliency training is often overlooked as part of the traditional surgical training. 

This practical guide is founded on many conversations with struggling general surgery residents and will have wide appeal, utilizing these experiences via interviews with current residents at different residency programs and covering an even wider variety of topics, with variable experiences based on differing ages, races, sexes, and marital statuses. Each chapter begins with a topic and a brief introduction, expansion on the topic based on their unique experiences, and then a concluding list of pearls to remember and use in daily residency. The topics are broken down thematically into five main sections, covering the breadth of residency experience and work/life balance: academics, clinical duties, life outside of work, leadership and ethics, and basic survival skills and self-care.

Written by current residents for current residents,General Surgery Residency Survival Guidewill be a valuable resource for everyone navigating this challenging portion of their medical career.

Part I. Basic Survival Skills.- Sleeping.- Nutrition.- Self Care.- Stress Management and Dealing with Burnout.- Exercise.- Vacations/Holidays/Occasions.- Hobbies.- COVID and other illnesses/injuries.-Part II. Relationships/Finances.- Relationships.- Family.- Kids.- Holiday/occasions.- Pregnancy/Maternity.- Leave or lack thereof.- Household chores.- Bills.- Loans.- Home Purchase.- Death of a loved one.-Part III. Academics.- Mentorship: How to spot a good mentor and hold on tight.- Board Preparation.- Talent versus hard work.- Acquiring wisdom and judgment.- Developing surgical skills/practice/skills trainers/labs.- Studying.- Research.- Tools for Purchase.- CV Preparation.-Part IV. Clinical Duties.- List management.- Office Hours.- Triaging clinical duties.- Surviving night call/ED call/Weekend Call.- Teaching residents and students.- Interaction with nurses, OR and office staff.- Interaction with other residents and attendings.- How to deal with Curbside Consults.-Part V. Leadership/Ethics.- Leadership.- Professionalism.- Delegation.- Dealing with Bullying and micro and macroaggressions.- Complications.- The difficult patient.- The difficult attending.- How to be empathetic.- Just another day in paradise.