ABSTRACT
Good judgement and sound decision making have high standing as surgical attributes. Stress affects cognitive processes involving memory, recall of knowledge and attention. One of the most important effects of acute stress is on decision-making capacity. Although this capacity is just as important as operative skills, hardly any empirical information is available on the impact of stress on surgical decision making. This may be due to the fact that unlike technical skill, the impact of stress on decision making cannot be easily observed. The impact of your intraoperative decisions may be immediate and drastic. And the outcome of your decision may cause reduction in your stress or may worsen it!
