LAUSR

S urgical education has traditionally focused on technical aspects of surgical skill acquisition, for good technical skills are the building blocks of surgery. Cultivation of the psychological aspects of being a good surgeon—such as self-confidence, ability to handle stress, and resilience—has received much less attention in the educational context. Furthermore, achievement of these goals while retaining one’s humanism, collegiality, and personal well-being, has not yet been collectively considered. We believe much of these ‘‘subtler’’ lessons are implicitly passed through surgical culture. Local surgical culture, which extends to the wards and the operating room, may also affect surgical training in ways that we have not yet considered. We define Resident Training Environment (RTE) as a combination of resident–faculty interactions, operating room (OR) teaching approaches, and local (departmental) surgical culture. Below, we explore the optimal RTE by applying findings from neuroscience, psychology, and education research.