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Success as a cardiothoracic surgeon requires more than technical excellence. Sustained performance depends on intentional care of mental, physical, and emotional well-being—especially in a specialty defined by high-stakes decisions, long hours, and constant pressure.

The STS Wellness Institute is designed to support surgeons as whole people, offering practical, evidence based strategies that can be applied immediately and shared within institutions to strengthen teams and culture.

The final session in this five-part series—taking place Tuesday, April 28, 2026, from 8 to 9 p.m. ET—focuses on resilience and surgeon well being, addressing the realities of burnout while emphasizing sustainable paths forward. The session will be presented by Mike Klaybor, PhD.

Here’s a quick preview of what you’ll learn:

1. Burnout Is a Systemic Risk—Not a Personal Failure
   Burnout affects many surgeons, impacting patient safety, decision-making, and career longevity. Chronic stress, emotional exhaustion, and depersonalization are predictable responses to relentless demands.

   Cardiothoracic surgeons face intense stressors, from life-or-death stakes and demanding schedules to administrative burdens and emotional strain. This session reframes well-being as both a clinical and organizational priority, showing how addressing burnout strengthens surgeons, teams, and patient care.

2. Mindset and Daily Practices Shape Long Term Resilience How surgeons interpret stress, mistakes, and feedback directly impacts resilience. A fixed mindset can deepen burnout and isolation, while a growth mindset supports learning, adaptability, and recovery.

   This session offers evidence-based strategies you can use immediately, including stress-regulation tools, techniques to move beyond perfectionism, structured reflection and peer debriefing, and setting boundaries that protect energy. Resilience isn’t about enduring—it’s about building habits that sustain performance while preserving purpose and identity.

3. Well Being Requires Both Personal and Institutional Support
   Resilience doesn’t exist in isolation. While individual tools are essential, institutional culture plays a decisive role in whether surgeons feel supported or overwhelmed. Leadership modeling, psychological safety, humane scheduling, and access to confidential support resources all shape that environment.

   This session highlights how coordinated wellness initiatives can drive meaningful change. For surgeons, this means permission to speak openly, set limits, and seek support. For institutions, it means recognizing well-being as foundational to excellence—not secondary to it.

Register for this free session and take a step toward a more sustainable, high-performing surgical career.