Does Character Matter in Surgical Education and Can You Teach It?

Character is central to surgical ethics and the practice of surgery. However, surgical ethics, like medical ethics, primarily applies a principle-based ethical approach to help with complex decision-making. Principles focus on the right action, whereas character emphasizes the actor—the surgeon. Yet, surgical education emphasizes technical mastery with often little regard for character development.

The practice of surgery requires more than just knowledge and technical skill; it requires practical wisdom to apply the craft properly. Training good surgeons (not just technically competent and efficient surgeons) requires attending to both technical skills and character formation. While skeptics may argue that character is fixed by the time one begins residency, recent scholarship illustrates that character—like technical skills—can be taught and should be one of the primary aims of surgical education.

While character education has its limitations, we must recruit residents with character in mind, develop faculty, and offer practices that build habits. Character matters in surgery and should be taught.