How to support neurosurgical residents’ psychological capital? An ethnographic study of Finnish neurosurgeons’ coaching and mentoring

Neurosurgery is a demanding profession, requiring continuous evolution of manual and mental skills. To identify challenges in their psychological training, we analyzed the work coaching of neurosurgeons in three university hospitals in Finland, focusing on psychological capital (PsyCap) with the following research questions: (1) How do the elements of PsyCap appear in coaching?; and (2) What kinds of PsyCap-related needs for mentoring were identified during the mentoring? Within the setting of participatory ethnography, data were collected through interviews with two neurosurgeons and two neurosurgical residents, and observations from seven neurosurgical residents participating in work coaching. Work coaching was an effective method for approaching the PsyCap of neurosurgeons, providing insights that could be transformed into more effective mentoring of the residents. Neurosurgery residents’ overall growth was supported by the recognition of self-efficacy and resilience skills. To our knowledge, this is the first study focusing on neurosurgeons’ and neurosurgical residents’ PsyCap.