Table 1.

Potential recommendations from selected articles

Recommendations	Brief description from articles
One‐to‐one support sessions	An informal one‐to‐one discussion with a senior colleague soon after the incident, with a second follow‐up meeting if necessary4 7, 8, 9 15, 16 18, 19 26, 27 30, 31, 32, 33
Debriefing sessions	Debriefing sessions to help deconstruct the incident and encourage learning7 25, 29 33
	Trained psychologists would carry out formal debriefing sessions with the individual, similar to those carried out in the aviation industry4 7
Mentoring	Putting structured peer support or mentoring programmes in place where the affected health professionals would be followed up by a senior colleague or manager soon after an event7 19
Morbidity and mortality conferences (UK) Deaths and complications conferences (USA)	Morbidity and mortality, and deaths and complications conferences to be more structured and blame‐free, to encourage open discussions about an incident and promote a culture of shared learning within the organizations7 15, 26 28
	Opportunities to discuss freely an incident that they were involved in and draw on the experiences of senior colleagues across various specialties to promote learning7 15, 26 28
Education and training	Health professionals should be educated as part of their undergraduate curriculum about the possibility of surgical errors occurring in practice and what different coping strategies could be employed following these incidents7 15, 17 26, 30
Supportive environment	Organizations should promote an environment where mistakes from juniors are not perceived as their individual problems, but rather common glitches expected from trainees26
	The option to have some time off work in the aftermath of a surgical incident, as the psychological impact might affect their concentration and continued performance7 25, 29 33
	Managers and peers need to find time to listen and support the affected individuals. This support should be offered at an early stage following the event7 14, 21
	Support systems should be structured and meet individual needs21
Investigation or inquiry process	To have an open and transparent process in analysing these events19
	A need for the formal investigation process to be explained more clearly following a surgical complication19 26