The British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS) has launched a psychology course aimed at developing the psychological skills of surgeons.
The course ‘Psychological Skills for Surgeons’ is a four-part programme aimed at improving surgeons’ understanding of patient psychology, explains BAAPS. The day-long programme has been developed by clinical health psychologists Dr Joy MacInnes and Dr Esther Hansen and endeavours to equip surgeons with the necessary skills to respond to psychological factors in patient consultations.
According to BAAPS, the course is divided into four sections and covers a series of didactic lectures and face-to-face interactions. The first part centres on the patient-surgeon relationship and aims to uncover the aspirations of the patient in order to allow surgeons to effectively manage expectations. The second part is focused on exploring what the patient considers to be the physical function of surgery. It explores the psychological impact of surgery and how to set boundaries with regard to onward referrals and second opinions.
BAAPS council member Caroline Payne, said, “Carrying out a thorough psychological assessment before any surgery is crucial. One of the hardest things to deal with is how to say no to patients and this course teaches us how to set those boundaries, when to ask for second opinions, when to ask for onward referrals.”
The theory will be put into practice in the latter half of the programme. Using actors to enact scenarios, surgeons will be tested on the ability to respond to patients’ understanding of surgery, factoring in how to adjust their decision-making according to behavioural changes.
For more information visit the BAAPS website.
