Resource Library
Resilience
“Sip & Share”: Building Resilience in Surgery Residency Through Moral Distress Rounds
Journal of Surgical Education
Medicus Integra Criteria
RSL: Moral Distress
A proven intervention is hosting moral distress rounds where clinicians can openly discuss ethically troubling cases in a safe setting. A 2023 study in a surgery residency (“Sip & Share”) found that regular moral distress rounds provided a “structured safe zone” for residents to share and process morally distressing experiences, and that these gatherings mitigated moral distress and built resilience . Many critical care units and palliative teams now do similar debriefings. An organization can implement moral distress rounds (perhaps facilitated by an ethicist or senior physician) whenever staff identify a need – for example, after a series of challenging end-of-life cases. Documenting the existence of such rounds (and any outcomes or feedback from them) would directly answer how the organization helps physicians explore moral distress and its impact on their sense of calling.

