Survey Examines Personality and Risk Attitudes in EGS Decisions

Surgeons who perform emergency general surgery (EGS) regularly make complex clinical decisions under pressure, often with incomplete information and limited time. Researchers are examining how personality traits and attitudes toward risk may influence those decisions.

Researchers at the University of Glasgow are seeking surgeons and other clinicians to participate in the Mapping Attitudes and Personality in Perioperative Decision-Making (MAPPING) Study, part of the Bowel Research UK-funded PERI-SCOPES research program. The study aims to better understand how individual characteristics may influence clinical judgment in EGS.

The research team is examining how clinicians approach decisions involving uncertainty, competing priorities, and time-sensitive interventions.. Understanding these factors could provide valuable insights into variations in clinical decision-making and potentially inform future approaches to surgical education, multidisciplinary teamwork, and patient safety.

The researchers are seeking consultant-level (attending) general surgeons, anesthesiologists, and intensivists from across the world who are involved in EGS decision-making.

The online survey takes approximately 15–20 minutes to complete and includes a questionnaire assessing personality traits and attitudes toward risk, followed by specialty-specific emergency clinical scenarios.

Participants will receive an individualized personality profile upon completing the survey, offering an opportunity to reflect on characteristics that may influence their approach to clinical decisions.

The survey closes October 31.