(1115) What's trust got to do with it? How Otolaryngologists Experience Trust in Surgical Practice

Introduction: Trust is integral to the surgeon patient relationship, and related research primarily focuses on the patient perspective. This qualitative study explores the surgeon experience of trust in the surgeon-patient relationship.

Methods: Realist thematic analysis of semi-structured qualitative interviews with Otolaryngology faculty at a single academic institution recruited via purposive sampling between November 2025 to January 2026.

Results: Twenty-six Otolaryngology faculty participated. Of those, 10 (38.5%) were females and 16 males (61.5%) with average age of 47.1 (SD 10.05) years. The average number of years since graduation from medical school was 20.8 years (SD 9.94). Preliminary thematic analysis revealed that surgeons’ experience of patient trust impacts personal well-being and professional satisfaction. Surgeons assigned high value while acknowledging a paradoxically limited educational or practical focus on establishing trust with patients. Facilitators and barriers to trust were also identified at systemic, interpersonal, and intrapersonal levels.

Conclusions: Trust is central to both the patient and surgeon experience of the surgeon-patient relationship. The role of trust for the patient is intuitive, yet this is not true for the surgeon. This study identifies the multidimensional importance, value and consequences for the surgeon of establishing trusting relationships with patients and has implications for surgical education, care delivery models, patient outcomes, and surgeon well-being and job satisfaction.