Teaching to transform surgical culture: an educational programme and thematic analysis in a general surgery department

INTRODUCTION: General surgery departments are busy, meaning educational opportunities may be sporadic. Clinical priorities can sometimes supersede teaching and trainees may feel alienated at the periphery of the working community. In this study, we demonstrate how a reflective, multidisciplinary general surgery teaching programme was established and use this to assess the impact of structured teaching on surgical doctors of all grades in the department. METHODS: Twelve semi-structured telephone interviews were conducted with participants of varying grades. Transcripts were analysed using a grounded theory thematic analysis, revealing four themes: the value of teaching; learning as a community; barriers to successful training; and culture of surgery. DISCUSSION: Teaching helped juniors construct healthy narratives around general surgery and encouraged a process of professional identity formation. Pairing junior and senior colleagues allowed both to develop their skills, and reflective learning revealed new learning opportunities. Transparency across the ‘community of practice’ was achieved and the programme helped juniors overcome negative stereotypes of intimidation embedded in the hidden surgical curriculum. CONCLUSION: Reflective, multidisciplinary learning can challenge the hidden curriculum and encourage team cohesion. A commitment to critical reflective teaching will be vital in cultivating surgeons of the future. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12909-022-03941-3.