March 02, 2026

Unlocking the How and Why: Qualitative Research in Surgery

38 minutes

In surgery, when we think of research, often we picture randomized controlled trials, meta-analyses, and big data sets. But have you ever considered what we might miss by limiting our research programs to quantitative inquiry? What if you want to understand the culture or identity of your department or your training program? Or, what If you want to understand the values, priorities, and lived experiences of your patients? Some of the most meaningful insights about how we teach, learn, and practice surgery come from talking to people. Their words, their stories, and their experiences, and that's where qualitative research comes in. In this episode we dive into the “why” and “how” of qualitative research with leaders in the space, Professor Nicole Perez and Dr. Maya Hunt.

Host:

Steven Thornton, MD (General Surgery Resident at Duke University)

Guests:

Nicole Perez (Assistant Professor of Medical Education, University of Illinois Chicago)

Maya Hunt (General Surgery Resident, Indiana University)

Publications Discussed:

Bosk CL. Forgive and Remember: Managing Medical Failure. The University of ChicagoPress; 2011.

Liang et al 2019 Why do women leave surgical training? A qualitative and feminist study, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(18)32612-6

Jenkins TM. Doctors’ Orders: the Making of Status Hierarchies in an Elite Profession. Columbia University Press; 2020.

Yosso, T. J. (2005). Whose culture has capital? A critical race theory discussion of community cultural wealth. Race Ethnicity and Education, 8(1), 69–91. https://doi.org/10.1080/1361332052000341006

***Fellowship Application Link: https://forms.gle/QSUrR2GWHDZ1MmWC6

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