LAUSR

Surgical residents knowingly forfeit a degree of personal autonomy when they enter residency. Personal needs are at the mercy of the operative schedule and must be deferred or sacrificed to accommodate patient needs. Trainees surrender personal autonomy out of a duty to their patients, in accordance with the hierarchy of medical training. For most residents, a sick day is—whether due to pride, program restraints, or refusal to pass along work to fellow residents— simply not an option. But, inevitably, illness strikes. Over the last year, in our program alone, at least 4 residents have required surgery or hospitalization. A total of 6 residents in the past 5 years took at least 1 week of medical leave due to illness or surgery. As a result, our program has recognized the conflicted needs of the residentpatient and sought to develop best practices to deal with this common occurrence. Admittedly, being a surgical resident suffering from surgical disease does come with some notable advantages. Workup and admission are often expedited, residents enjoy a strong understanding of their prognosis and treatment and share an insider’s knowledge of the medical system. This treatment may be similar to that of the so-called “VIP” or “Very Important Patient” that has been previously discussed in the literature. VIP patients have the potential to influence a clinician’s judgment and induce changes in behaviors and clinical practice with the inadvertent risks of poorer outcomes and unnecessary or added tests when deviating from standard practice, the so-called “VIP syndrome.” However, to date, research has focused mostly on celebrity and highprofile patients and the social issues and challenges faced when caring for a VIP and not the unique role of the surgical resident. The sick trainee experience is unable to be adequately summarized under the VIP heading and should be