Behind the Mask of Shame Part 1 - The Background

A career in surgery has a profound impact on those who practice the craft. High rates of poor mental health are well described but incompletely understood. One potential mechanism for advancing our understanding of surgeon well-being is studying surgeons’ emotional experiences. Shame, a self-conscious emotion reflecting how an individual feels about themselves, could be a particularly powerful lens. In this series on shame in surgery, we explore what we know about shame in surgery and what shame can tell us about learning and working as surgeons. In this first episode, we talk with Dr. Will Bynum and Professor Luna Dolezal about how they understand shame in medicine, why it's so hard to see even when it's everywhere, and how developing what they call "shame competence" might be one of the most important steps we can take toward humanizing surgical training. Host: Steven Thornton Guests: Will Bynum (Associate Professor of Family Medicine, Duke University) Luna Dolezal (Professor of Philosphy and Medical Humanities, Exeter University) Publications Discussed: Dolezal L, Bynum W. Shame competence: addressing the effects of shame in health care. Lancet. 2024 Oct 19;404(10462):1514-1515. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(24)02269-4. PMID: 39426826. The Nocturnists. Shame in Medicine: The Lost Forest [podcast series]. The Nocturnists; 2022. Nguyen LN, Bynum WE 4th. When I Say…self-conscious emotions. Med Educ. 2021 Mar;55(3):291-292. doi: 10.1111/medu.14425. Epub 2020 Dec 23. PMID: 33289140. Tracy, J. L., Robins, R. W., & Tangney, J. P. (Eds.). (2007). The self-conscious emotions: Theory and research. The Guilford Press. ***Fellowship Application Link: Please visit to access other high-yield surgical education podcasts, videos and more. If you liked this episode, check out our recent episodes here: Behind the Knife Premium: General Surgery Oral Board Review Course: Oral Board Simulator: Trauma Surgery Video Atlas: Dominate Surgery: A High-Yield Guide to Your Surgery Clerkship: Dominate Surgery for APPs: A High-Yield Guide to Your Surgery Rotation: Vascular Surgery Oral Board Review Course: Colorectal Surgery Oral Board Review Course: Surgical Oncology Oral Board Review Course: Cardiothoracic Oral Board Review Course: Download our App: Apple App Store: Android/Google Play:

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Behind the Mask of Shame Part 1 - The Background is an episode from Behind The Knife: The Surgery Podcast.

This episode is 50:55 long.

This episode was published on Apr 13, 2026.

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